Zhc flDobern 1Rea£>er'0 Bible 



Prophecy Series 



Isaiah 



THE MODERN READER'S BIBLE 



A SERIES OF WORKS FROM THE SACRED SCRIPTURES PRESENTED 
IN MODERN LITERARY FORM 



EDITED, WITH AN INTRODUCTION- AND NOTES 
BY 

RICHARD G. MOULTON, M.A. (Camb.), Ph.D. (Penn.) 

Professor of Literature in English in the 
University of Chicago 




THE MACMILLAN COMPANY 



LONDON: MACMILLAN & CO., Ltd. 



All rights reserved 



Copyright, 1897, 
By THE M ACM ILL AN COMPANY. 

Set up and electrotyped January, 1897. Reprinted October, 
897; March, October, 1898; August, 1899; May, 1900 ; August, 
9 OI « ; July, 1902; May, 1903. 




J. S. Cushing & Co. — Berwick & Smith 
Norwood Mass. U.S.A. 



Introduction 



To him who at this day reads in the Book of the 
prophet Isaiah the paramount question is still, i Under- 
standest thou what thou readest?' The literary instinct 
is drawn to this wonderful book by a charm which often 
seems to be flying from us if we press it beyond beauty of 
expression to clearness of thought. The version of King 
James's time, so grand in its English sentences, so imper- 
fect in that connectedness of thought which lifts language 
into literature, has lulled too many of us into being content 
with prophecy as a storehouse of sacred sayings. If, de- 
sirous of something more, we go to the commentators 
whose Hebrew learning makes them our natural advisers, 
we find them intent upon other things : upon constructing 
out of Isaiah's writings the history of his times, upon the 
grand question of authorship — whether there are two or 
even more Isaiahs. And when in regard to some particu- 
lar obscurity we seek from them exactly what has been 
said, no matter by whom nor when, our eagerness is dashed 
by finding that in the opinion of these eminent authorities 



-*8 Introduction 



we may have only the rough notes of the prophet, made 
yet more disconnected by the illegitimate glosses of some 
wholly superfluous editor. 

From the Modern Reader's Bible questions of author- 
ship are excluded : what is elsewhere claimed to be a 
Second Isaiah will here appear in its place as a seventh 
book, nothing more being postulated than what all schools 
of criticism may admit — that we have in these chapters a 
separate literary composition complete in itself. In apply- 
ing the plan of the present series to the Biblical Isaiah, 
all other discussion must be subordinated to the settlement 
of the text. Not indeed in the ordinary sense of that 
phrase : for the critical determination of the Hebrew text, 
and the translation of its sentences into their English 
equivalents, it is a principle of this edition to accept the 
Revised Version (text or margins). But an editor's work 
is only half completed when he has printed his author in 
solid columns of type, like a newspaper without the assist- 
ance that even a newspaper gives with its headings. The 
true form of the literary work must be presented to the 
eye. At present the effusion of a poetaster in the corner 
of a provincial journal is printed with more discrimination 
of poetic form than the masterpieces of the Bible. The 
task of the present edition is to ascertain, from internal 
evidence and the analogy of other prophecy, what are the 
separate compositions of which the whole book is made 
up, and what is the true literary form of each, and to pre- 

vi 



Introduction 8«~ 



sent these to the eye with the conventional external ar- 
rangement to which a modern reader is accustomed. 

It has been no easy task : the morphology of Hebrew 
literature goes far outside that which has been made famil- 
iar to us in a criticism founded upon modern and classical 
authors. I have in former volumes dwelt upon the dis- 
tinction of Hebrew among the great literatures of the 
world : how its verse is based upon a parallelism of 
clauses which also belongs to rhetoric ; how there is there- 
fore an overlapping in Hebrew of verse and prose, and 
also of those modes of thought to which verse and prose 
serve but as outer expression. In the Introduction to Job 
I endeavoured to describe how marvellous an instrument 
of literary power is found in this infinite flexibility of 
Hebrew style. But what is true of Job is true in an equal 
degree oi Isaiah. In this writer it is easy to see that we 
have an orator, who wields with ease the whole armoury 
of rhetoric. It is easy to see also that with him imagery 
and poetic expression are much more than accessories : he 
loves to linger upon his images, and rapidly shift them, 
until they become lovely pictures which we dwell upon for 
their own sake. But Isaiah goes far beyond this : he is 
essentially a creative writer, and regularly conveys his 
thought in indirect forms of dramatic presentation. And 
I would suggest further that we find in his writings a 
fusion of all other literary forms in that new form which is 
here called a Rhapsody. 

vii 



-*8 Introduction 



I am sensible of the awkwardness of attempting to intro- 
duce a new technical term in connection with literature so 
sacred and so familiar. But the new term is needed be- 
cause the matter to be described is not paralleled in other 
literatures. If we are to be limited to received nomen- 
clature, perhaps it would be best to describe the composi- 
tions which I have in view as 4 spiritual dramas.' The 
highly dramatic instinct of the Hebrew mind, denied its 
natural outlet of a theatre, permeates all branches of litera- 
ture alike ; and so prophecy has special forms which cer- 
tainly leave on our minds as we read the general effect 
of dramatic realisation. But these prophetic dramas are 
such as no theatre could compass. For their stage they 
need all space ; and the time of their action extends to 
the end of all things. The speakers include God and the 
Celestial Hosts ; Israel appears, Israel Suffering or Israel 
Repentant ; Sinners in Zion, the Godly in Zion ; the Saved 
and the Doomed, the East and the West, answer one 
another. There is often one who speaks in the name of 
God, yet is not God — the Voice of Prophecy may express 
the idea ; at times the same personality seems to be pres- 
ent in the scene of his ministry, and becomes the Prophetic 
Spectator. Not infrequently ' Voices, 1 ' Cries, 1 with no 
more of personality than these words imply, carry on 
some part of the movement. Monologue is made to do 
the work of dramatic dialogue ; especially where the 
Divine monologue, apostrophising nations or classes, 

viii 



Introduction 



makes them thereby present to the scene; or where it 
alternates between judgment and, mercy, indignation and 
tenderness. Nay, paradoxical though it may sound, Silence 
itself is a speaker in these dramas : when, in the great 
Isaiahan rhapsody, Jehovah challenges the idols, their 
dumb impotence is made by him a step in the action of 
the scene ; similarly in the Awakening of Zion, the move- 
ment of this realistic vision is made by reiterated appeals 
to Zion which are met with no response, until at the very 
end the Watchmen of Jerusalem awake and rouse their 
city to the glad tidings. 

Thus what of drama these prophecies contain is purely 
spiritual drama. But they contain also elements that are 
distinctly non-dramatic. The discourse of God, or of some 
other speaker, will be interrupted by lyric songs, rejoicing 
over or emphasising what has been said : and with these 
lyrics no personality can possibly be associated, but they 
come, like the chorales of an oratorio, as abstract medita- 
tions upon the situation that has been dramatically pre- 
sented. Even prose discourse may have at least a prefatory 
place in the rhapsodies. At times, again, the movement 
may be carried on by fragments of narrated vision ; or criti- 
cal points may be announced by the author in his own 
words, like the elaborate 6 stage directions ' of the theatrical 
drama : in both these cases the work of drama being done 
by the narration which is the very antithesis of dramatic 
presentation. There is a difference greater even than this 

ix 



-*8 Introduction 



between the sacred rhapsodies and the drama of secular 
literature. In the nature of things dramatic action can 
never go back : the acts of a play must succeed one another 
in order of time. This characteristic is found in some 
rhapsodies, in others it is markedly absent : there may be 
an advance in the movement of such a rhapsody, but it is 
an advance which is logical and not temporal. The ' Rhap- 
sody of Judgment 1 with which Isaiah concludes his ' Dooms 
of the Nations 1 falls naturally into three parts. In the 
first we have a destruction that embraces the whole earth ; 
in the second it has extended to take in heaven as well as 
earth. The scope of the prophecy cannot be further en- 
larged, but in the third section there is an advance in 
intensity : what before was a whole picture is now seen in 
the steps of its progress ; the destruction which was com- 
plete in part two, is only threatening to fall upon the 
world at the commencement of part three ; yet through 
this third part the quickened alternation of doom and hope 
makes an adequate climax. Dramatically such retrogres- 
sion in time would be impossible : we have here a spiritual 
literature which transcends the limits of dramatic form. 

Thus Hebrew prophecy obliges us to make an addition 
to the nomenclature of literature ; and the term 6 Rhap- 
sody 1 — consecrated alike by poetry and music to express 
the most vivid presentation, and that a subjective or spirit- 
ual presentation, combined with the smallest limitation of 
form — may serve the purpose. It is to be observed that 



Introduction S«~ 



not only must we recognise complete rhapsodies, but the 
rhapsodic form is found to leaven other literary forms of 
prophecy in all degrees of completeness. The great As- 
syrian discourse of Isaiah is purely discourse, except that 
just as the crisis of the boastful invasion is reached there 
is a momentary change to rhapsodic realisation — panic 
cries tracing the enemy's advance to the very gates of 
Jerusalem : then discourse resumes to narrate the over- 
throw of the invader and the Messianic peace that succeeds. 
Again — if my interpretation is correct — Isaiah's discourse 
of comfort to Ahaz is punctuated by snatches of the enemy's 
ballads repeated by the prophet in realistic scorn ; the 
climax also to this group of prophecies is made by triumph 
cries of the invading enemy alternating realistically with 
bursts of vision of their overthrow. A type of rhapsodic 
treatment more developed, yet still incomplete, is found 
in the interesting cluster of prophecies that centre around 
the idea of the Prophetic Watchman. He is presented as 
taking up his post on the outskirts of the Holy land, peer- 
ing over the eastern wilderness into the darkness of the 
future. Floods of vision rush upon him at intervals : the 
Divine voice is heard cheering on the hosts to their work 
against Babylon, or spectacles of rout and panic are seen : 
these realised visions are made to alternate with the 
prophet's own feelings at what he sees, or his explanations 
and admonitions. I have in this volume distinguished three 
portions of prophecy as rhapsodies in the completest sense : 

xi 



-59 Introduction 



and of these the most elaborate is that which covers the 
last twenty-six chapters — the Rhapsody of Zion Redeemed, 
with its seven acts or ' Visions': The Servant of Jehovah 
Delivered from Bondage ; The Servant of Jehovah Awak- 
ened ; Zion Awakened ; The Servant of Jehovah Exalted ; 
Songs of Zion Exalted ; Redemption at Work in Zion ; 
and The Day of Judgment. 

As regards literary form then Isaiah is discourse tem- 
pered by rhapsodic presentation in various degrees. What 
is the character of the thought which under such various 
forms is presented to us ? 

The Isaiah of the first six books may be described as a 
man of one idea : and his one idea is the main thought of 
all prophetic writing. To the corruption and evil around 
him he holds up a picture of a golden age in a future to 
be reached through a purging judgment from which only 
a remnant will escape. Whatever may be the immediate 
circumstances in which he speaks, this is always the drift 
of his message. He and his children are for signs and 
wonders in Israel : one son he has named ' Remnant 
Return/ the other 6 Spoil and Harry."' In the vision of 
his call, when amid rocking temple and smoking altar and 
answering voices Isaiah, like Moses, is permitted to see the 
skirts of the Divine presence, his lips must be purified with 
the coal of fire before he may offer himself as messenger. 
And his message is to confirm the guilty in their guilt — 

xii 



Introduction 8«- 



to make their heart fat and close their eyes and ears — 
until the land has been purged into a desert : even if there 
be but a tenth left it shall be purged again, and the final 
remnant shall be as the stock of a tree that has been felled. 

The topics of sin and judgment are everywhere being 
emphasised. Sin is the rebellion of children against the 
Divine parent, the unfaithfulness of a wife to a husband ; 
it is the carefully tended vineyard bringing forth wild 
grapes ; it is to forsake the rock of strength for the plant- 
ing of pleasant plants and setting of strange slips and 
watching over the morning of blossoms — but the harvest 
is a heap in the day of grief and desperate sorrow. The 
judgment is the burning of lire under the glory of the 
thickets until they roll upward in volumes of smoke ; it is 
a Day of the Lord, cruel with wrath and fierce anger, when 
men fling away their idols to go into the caves and rocks 
and holes of the earth before the terror of the Lord, and 
his glorious majesty when he ariseth to shake mightily the 
earth. The message is not always in general terms : the 
prophets are the statesmen of Israel, opposition statesmen, 
standing for the theocracy against the established secular 
government. To the panic-stricken Ahaz the ideal of Di- 
vine presence is held up in the child Immanuel and the 
child Wonderful; elsewhere the rulers of Judah are de- 
nounced as confiding in a refuge of lies, a covenant with 
death, which will be swept away by the overflowing scourge 
that is to pass through ; the Divine vision has become a 

xiii 



Introduction 



closed book, which the ignorant will not read because he 
is not learned, and the learned will not read because it is 
closed ; the national iniquity is a breach ready to fall 
swelling out in a high wall, whose breaking cometh at an 
instant. Judgment is to descend also upon the foes of 
the chosen people : these advance like rushing waters, they 
are chased away like dust whirled before the storm. 
Babylon, for all its glory, will become like Sodom and 
Gomorrah, a desert where not even the Arab wanderer 
will harbour, but doleful creatures will inhabit there and 
satyrs dance on its ruins : the morning star falls, and the 
underworld moves to meet him, peering curiously at the 
power that once made the earth to tremble. Or all things 
are included in one general judgment, when the heavens 
will be rolled up like a scroll, and the host of the heavens 
fall like fading fig leaves, rivers of earth will become pitch 
and its dust brimstone : the smoke will go up for ever. 

From such universal judgment there will be gleanings 
— the shaking of an olive tree, two or three berries in the 
top of the uppermost bough, four or five in the outmost 
branches of a fruitful tree. For such a remnant there will 
be a golden age : when the scarlet sins will have become 
white as snow, when the harlot city will be the city of 
righteousness, purged with the blast of judgment; when 
the mountain of the Lord's house will be established at 
the head of the mountains, and many peoples will be 
flocking there, as to a judge whose reign of peace will beat 

xiv 



Introduction 8«- 



their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning 
hooks. Sometimes the happy future appears gradual in 
its coming: amidst the bread of adversity and water of 
affliction there is yet the blessing of visible teachers and 
voices guiding at every turn of the way ; the picture en- 
larges with pastoral imagery of streams of water on the 
high hills, cattle feeding in broad pastures, the increase of 
the ground fat and plenteous ; again the light of the moon 
becomes as the light of the sun, and the light of the sun 
increases sevenfold ; songs of victory abound as in the 
night when a holy feast is kept, while every stroke of the 
appointed staff laid on Assyria is with tabrets and harps 
and rejoicing. Or, on the other hand, the veil of judg- 
ment darkness that wraps the nations is suddenly rent for 
the Saved on the holy mountain, and there break out 
songs of death swallowed up for ever and tears wiped 
away from all faces. On such a mountain of holiness the 
Shoot out of the stem of Jesse will judge with equity in a 
reign of eternal peace, the venom passing from the snake, 
the wolf, fading and lion's whelp playing together with a 
little child to lead them, while songs of deliverance rise 
daily around the wells of salvation. The happy remnant 
will see the King in his beauty, their eyes will behold a 
far-stretching land, a place of broad rivers and streams, 
where no war galley can pass along : Jehovah will be 
judge, law-giver, king, saviour. 

Quite apart from aay question of theology, it may be 

XV 



-<8 Introduction 



said that no more precious legacy of thought has come 
down to us from antiquity than this Hebrew conception 
of a golden age to come. It is difficult to overestimate the 
bracing moral influence of an ideal future. The classic 
thought of Greece and Rome took an opposite course : 
their age of gold was in the remote past, the progress of 
time was a decline, and the riches of philosophy claimed 
to be no more than a precarious salvage. The result 
was the moral paralysis of fatalism, or at best individual- 
ism. The imaginative pictures of Biblical prophecy in- 
spire spiritual energy by bringing a future to work for, 
and, on the other hand, the weakness of a luxurious opti- 
mism is avoided in the writings of an author who, while he 
puts forth all his powers to exalt the future, insists always 
that the only way of entrance to this future is the forcible 
purging out of evil. 

When we turn from the six books to the Rhapsody of 
Zion Redeemed, we find the same general conception, which 
indeed is the thought of all prophecy, but it is now ex- 
panded, and placed in a new setting, associated with new 
historic surroundings. It may be safely asserted that no- 
where else in the literature of the world have so many 
colossally great ideas been brought together within the 
limits of a single work. 

The first of these great ideas is the prophetic signifi- 
cance put upon the conquering career of Cyrus and his 
deliverance of Israel from Babylon. The force of this 

xvi 



Introduction 



part of the prophecy has been much obscured by the wide- 
spread tendency to dwarf < prophecy ' into < prediction ' : 
and it has been argued as if all the tremendous machinery 
of the first Vision, with its scene of all the nations of the 
earth summoned before the bar of God, were put in 
motion for no further purpose than to exhibit Jehovah as 
capable of predicting a future which he was capable of 
making. In actual fact, the words of the Vision asso- 
ciate 6 foreseeing things to come' with 'declaring the 
former things ' : what the idols are challenged by Jehovah 
to do is to put upon the course of events such significance 
as the significance these events are found to bear when 
they are viewed in the light of Jehovah's purpose. This 
counsel of Jehovah is elaborately brought out : how he 
had chosen his people from among the nations ; how, un- 
faithful to their calling, they became blind and deaf, and, 
to magnify the law, they were permitted to be hidden in 
the prison houses of exile ; how their captors abused their 
orifice, and laid burdens on God's people, as if these were 
but their natural captives ; how therefore Cyrus is raised 
up as an instrument of righteousness to strike the nations 
down and set Israel free ; how Israel comes forth from his 
prison houses < a blind people that hath eyes, a deaf people 
that hath ears. 1 It had been too light a mission for Israel 
to raise up his own fallen people, he is to bring forth 
judgment also to the Gentiles ; the dispersion of Israel 
has been the means of leavening the nations, and opening 

xvii 



Introduction 



to them a way of salvation by which all nations of the 
earth may be blessed. It is as if the ages had been slowly 
and blindly dragging into place the different elements of 
some magnetic circle : the final event of Cyrus's career has 
completed the circle, and Jehovah's purpose from the begin- 
ning has been flashed forth to the world. If we go no further 
than this, it appears that in this rhapsody men's thoughts 
are for the first time lifted to a philosophy of world history. 

Closely associated with this is another of the great ideas 
of the rhapsody — that of spiritual conquest. The author- 
ity that proclaims Israel as Jehovah's Servant to bring 
judgment to the Gentiles, proclaims also that this work is 
to be done without violence : he is not to strive nor cry ; 
the bruised reed he is not to break, nor quench the smok- 
ing flax. The image describing his mission is the gentle 
agency of ' light,' with its irresistible illumination : he shall 
not burn dimly until his light has reached the farthest 
ends of the earth. This is among the loftiest moral con- 
ceptions of all human thought. How new an idea it was 
is measured by the length of time it has taken even the 
leaders of thought to grasp it. In actual history, the men 
of the Return were distinguished by a spirit of violent ex- 
clusiveness, that sought to draw tighter the bonds of heredi- 
tary privilege; their literary production, The Chro7iicles, 
delights to dwell upon a religious reform like that of Asa, 
with its covenant 'that whosoever would not seek the 
Lord the God of Israel, should be put to death, whether 
xviii 



Introduction 8*~ 



small or great, whether man or woman.' Fifteen centuries 
of Christianity exhibited Jews persecuting Christians and 
Christians persecuting Jews ; Catholics Protestants, and 
Protestants Quakers; before the idea began slowly to 
make its way that force cannot conquer spirit. This ideal 
of purely spiritual dominion is found, adorned with all the 
beauty of poetic setting, in the Hebrew rhapsody. 

It should be noted again that in this work of Zion Re- 
deemed, the fundamental conception of God is put upon 
that basis on which discussions of theism must ultimately 
rest. The rhapsody of course is filled with scorn of idol- 
atry. The idol worshipper must first plant his tree and 
wait for the rains of heaven to nourish it ; meanwhile he 
sweats over the forging of his axe ; when at last he can 
cut down his tree, the more important functions of fire- 
wood and cooking must still have precedence : the rubbish 
that is left is to be converted into a God of worship. 
But scorn of idols, if it stands alone, is open to an obvious 
retort : no idol worshipper, it will be said, ever supposes 
that a bit of wood saves him ; the wood is the symbol of a 
supernatural power. In the Isaiahan rhapsody this scorn 
of idols is associated with an antithesis of another kind : 
contempt is poured upon the forming of idol gods to con- 
trast with a God who has formed the people he redeems ; 
the idols are carried in procession — Bel bowing over one 
beast, Nebo stooping over another — but Jehovah has 
carried his people from infancy, and even to old age will 

xix 



Introduction 



he carry them. We are thus brought into contact with 
the fundamental question of theism : Is God something to 
be ' made,' 6 recognised/ ' accepted ' ; or is he the maker 
of the very mind that would 6 recognise' or ' accept'? A 
man may not choose his parents ; may he choose his God? 
Is God a supreme induction of human enquiry, or has he 
been revealed as something beyond human thought ? Or, 
to take the phraseology of a modern epigram, Is man the 
noblest work of God, or is it that God is the noblest work 
of man ? Thus on one more topic the Hebrew prophet is 
keeping us among the fundamentals of universal thought. 

The rhapsody, once more, is filled with the idea of 
Redemption : and the familiarity of this word in modern 
theology must not make us forget that among the moral 
conceptions of human thought the world has reached 
nothing higher than this. All force of poetic presentation 
is put forth to exalt this idea. In the first Vision inex- 
haustible tenderness is made to play around the new 
thought that the Maker of Israel has become his Re- 
deemer. The sixth Vision is a picture of the redeeming 
presence at work in Zion, from the first sight of a vineyard 
given up to the beasts of the forest, while watchmen sport 
and dogs slumber, to the song of Zion in her glory as the 
City of Salvation. Besides this direct treatment there is 
an indirect mode of exalting the idea of Redemption that 
is very potent : such imagery and allusion is employed as 
will exhibit the return across the desert from Babylon, 

XX 



Introduction 



with mystic food and waters of comfort, as the parallel of 
the original deliverance from Egypt. The words are 
found in the Book of Jeremiah, but it is the thought of 
this rhapsody that they express : 

Behold, the days come that it shall no more be said, As 
the Lord liveth, that brought up the children of Israel out of 
the land of Egypt ; but, As the LORD liveth, that brought up the 
children of Israel from the land of the north, and from all 
the countries whither he had driven them. 

Judgment, the final vindication of good and destruction 
of evil — the fundamental thought alike of Hebrew wisdom 
and Hebrew prophecy — appears in the rhapsody as the 
point up to which the whole dramatic movement has been 
working. Jehovah is seen in the vision of the Watchmen 
as coming from Edom, with crimsoned garments from 
Bozrah : he has trodden the winepress of judgment on the 
nations. And the judgment in Zion itself is the finale of 
the whole rhapsody, displayed with that pendulum swing 
of alternating thought which is in Hebrew literature the 
highest mode of emphasis. Vengeance and mercy are 
poured out upon the one side and the other, amid a back- 
ground of confused terror and glad surprise. The final 
note is a holy mountain with its sacred feasts for the saved 
of all nations : darkened only by the occasional glimpse 
of transgression consuming outside under an undying 
worm and a fire that is not quenched. 

xxi 



Introduction 



There is yet one more idea to be reckoned among the 
prominent thoughts of the Rhapsody of Zion Redeemed. 
In the literary sense it is the leading idea of the whole, yet 
the literary interpreter finds it difficult to handle, so closely 
has the idea in question become entangled with theologi- 
cal discussions. It is remarkable that Christian and Jew- 
ish theology, so different from one another, yet make their 
appeal to the same prophetic writings. The literary inter- 
pretation of such prophecy is something distinct from 
both. Theology will base its conclusions on more than 
one piece of literature, and can bring one part of sacred 
Scripture to fix the limits of interpretation to another : in 
literary analysis each individual work must be interpreted 
for itself. Theology again has its own canons of exegesis, 
which extend to secondary, symbolic meanings : literary 
interpretation, quite as much as grammatical analysis, is 
confined to the natural primary sense. Hence it is what 
may be expected, that the literary analysis of Scriptural 
works should be a common ground upon which opposing 
theologies may meet. Approaching then the Isaiahan 
rhapsody in a purely literary spirit we may ask, What is 
the significance to be attached to the 6 Servant of Jehovah,' 
who occupies in it so prominent a place? In the first of 
the seven Visions the nation of Israel is unquestionably 
the Servant of Jehovah. The use in a familiar passage 
of St. Matthew of words from this Vision in application 
to Christ is an example of secondary interpretation; it 

xxii 



Introduction 8&- 

must not blind us to the fact that the Servant who is 
delivered from prison houses, and is to bring light to the 
Gentiles, is in explicit terms the nation of Israel. In the 
second Vision the Servant of Jehovah is again explicitly 
identified with Israel, and in set terms he awakes to the 
mission which, in the previous part of the rhapsody, had 
been imposed on him. Yet even here it would seem that 
there is some idealising of the nation, for we see Israel 
rousing Israel ; and at the close of the second Vision there 
has been associated with the Servant of Jehovah just so 
much of personality as is implied in the idea of a martyr 
who gives his back to the smiters, and his cheeks to them 
that pluck off the hair. In the third Vision the Servant 
of Jehovah does not appear; in the fourth he is announced 
by Jehovah as highly exalted, to the astonishment of the 
nations which had misread his humiliation. As the chorus 
of astonishment follows, we are able to see how the Ser- 
vant of Jehovah has grown into a mystic personality, with 
which are associated in the clearest of language the idea 
of vicarious sufferings, and a soul made an offering for sin. / 
From this point the i Servant of Jehovah' no longer ap- 
pears. But when, in the sixth Vision, there appears a 
presence striving for the redemption of Zion, the question 
must inevitably arise : Is the hero of this sixth Vision the 
same as the hero of those that went before? Has the 
original conception of the nation of Israel been still 
further idealised into a new conception, or have we here a 

xxiii 



-*S Introduction 



distinct personality? The more I have studied this rhap- 
sody the more I have become convinced that we have in 
this case a real literary obscurity. Theology may on in- 
dependent grounds argue for or against the identification ; 
but, so far as regards the simple analysis of the literature, 
the question must be left unsolved, and the personality of 
the sixth Vision described simply by the name, 'The 
Redeemer.' 

I have thus briefly reviewed the main thought in the 
Biblical Book of Isaiah, and the literary forms by which 
that thought is brought home to the imagination and 
heart. Even in literary form the world has produced 
nothing greater than Isaiah-, and the very difficulty of 
determining its literary form is so much evidence how 
cramped and imperfect literary criticism has been made by 
the confinement of its outlook to the single type of litera- 
ture which has come to monopolise the name ' classical.' 
But when we proceed to the matter and thought of Isaiah 
— the literary matter, quite apart from the theology founded 
on it — how can we explain the neglect of such a master- 
piece in our plans of liberal education ? It is the boast of 
England and America that its higher education is religious 
in its spirit : why is it then that our youth are taught to 
associate exquisiteness of expression, force of presenta- 
tion, brilliance of imaginative picturing, only with litera- 
tures in which the prevailing matter and thought is on a 
low moral plane ? Such a paradox is part of the paganism 

xxiv 



Introduction 8^ 



which came in with the Renaissance, and which our higher 
education is still too conservative to shake off. The 
friends of literary education who rebel against the thought 
of so one-sided a culture have a definite issue to contend 
for : that at least Isaiah and Job should take their place 
beside Plato and Homer in the curricula of our colleges 
and schools. 

* * 
* 

The text throughout the series is that of the Revised 
Version, including the marginal alternatives : for the use 
of it I express my obligation to the University Presses of 
Oxford and Cambridge. A Reference Table at the end 
connects the arrangement in this volume with the Chap- 
ters and Verses of the Bible. 

The volume contains the usual notes on detailed pas- 
sages. At the commencement of the Notes (page 213) 
will be found discussions of important points in the style 
of Isaiah or the principles underlying the present arrange- 
ment of the text, which the reader would do well to con- 
sult before otherwise using the book. 

XXV 



The Vision 
of 

ISAIAH 

the son of Amoz 

which he saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem 
in the days of 

Uzziah 

Jotham 

Ahaz 
and Hezekiah 
kings of Judah 



i 



I 



I 



Book I 

GENERAL PROPHECIES 

Book II 

PROPHECIES OF THE UNHOLY ALLIANCE AND 
THE SIGN IMMANUEL 

Book III 

PROPHECY OF ASSYRIAN INVASION 

Book IV 

DOOMS OF THE NATIONS 

Book V 

PROPHECIES OF JUDGMENT AND RESTORATION 

Book VI 

THE MINISTRY OF ISAIAH UNDER HEZEKIAH 

Book VII 

THE RHAPSODY OF ZION REDEEMED 



Book I 

GENERAL PROPHECIES 



i 



The Great Arraignment 

Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth, for the Lord 
hath spoken : I have nourished and brought up children, 
and they have rebelled against me. 

The ox knoweth his owner, and the ass his master's 
crib : but Israel doth not know, my people doth not con- 
sider. Ah sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a 
seed of evil-doers, children that deal corruptly : they have 
forsaken the Lord, they have despised the Holy One of 
Israel, they are estranged and gone backward. Why will 
ye be still stricken, that ye revolt more and more ? The 
whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint. From the 
sole of the foot even unto the head there is no soundness 
in it ; but wounds, and bruises, and festering sores : they 
have not been closed, neither bound up, neither mollified 
with oil. Your country is desolate ; your cities are burned 
with fire ; your land, strangers devour it in your presence, 
and it is desolate, as overthrown by strangers. And the 
daughter of Zion is left as a booth in a vineyard, as a lodge 
in a garden of cucumbers, as a besieged city. Except the 

7 



Book I i 



-*8 Isaiah 



Lord of hosts had left unto us a very small remnant, we 
should have been as Sodom, we should have been like 
unto Gomorrah. 

Hear the word of the Lord, ye rulers of ^Sodom ; give 
ear unto the law of our God, ye people of Gomorrah. To 
what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices unto me ? 
saith the Lord : I am full of the burnt offerings of rams, 
and the fat of fed beasts ; and I delight not in the blood 
of bullocks, or of lambs, or of he-goats. When ye come to 
appear before me, who hath required this at your hand, 
to trample my courts ? Bring no more vain oblations ; in- 
cense is an abomination unto me ; new moon and sabbath, 
the calling of assemblies, — I cannot away with iniquity 
and the solemn meeting. Your new moons and your ap- 
pointed feasts my soul hateth : they are a trouble unto 
me ; I am weary to bear them. And when ye spread forth 
your hands, I will hide mine eyes from you : yea, when ye 
make many prayers, I will not hear : your hands are full 
of blood. 

Wash you, make you clean ; put away the evil of your 
doings from before mine eyes ; cease to do evil : learn to 
do well ; seek judgment, relieve the oppressed, judge the 
fatherless, plead for the widow. Come now, and let us 
reason together, saith the Lord : though your sins be as 
scarlet, they shall be as white as snow ; though they 
be red like crimson, they shall be as wool. If ye be will- 
ing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land : but 

8 



General Prophecies 8e* 



Book I i 



if ye refuse and rebel, ye shall be devoured with the sword : 
for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it. 

How is the faithful city become an harlot! she that was 
full of judgement ! righteousness lodged in her, but now 
murderers. Thy silver is become dross, thy wine mixed 
with water. Thy princes are rebellious, and companions 
of thieves ; every one loveth gifts, and followeth after 
rewards : they judge not the fatherless, neither doth the 
cause of the widow come unto them. Therefore saith the 
Lord, the Lord of hosts, the Mighty One of Israel, Ah, 
I will ease me of mine adversaries, and avenge me of 
mine enemies : and I will turn my hand upon thee, and 
thoroughly purge away thy dross, and will take away alL 
thy alloy : and I will restore thy judges as at the first, 
and thy counsellors as at the beginning: afterward thou 
shalt be called The city of righteousness, the faithful city. 
Zion shall be redeemed with judgement, and her converts 
with righteousness. But the destruction of the trans- 
gressors and the sinners shall be together, and they that 
forsake the Lord shall be consumed. For they shall be 
ashamed of the oaks which ye have desired, and ye shall 
be confounded for the gardens that ye have chosen. For 
ye shall be as an oak whose leaf fadeth, and as a garden 
that hath no water. And the strong shall be as tow, and 
his work as a spark ; and they shall both burn together, 
and none shall quench them. 

9 



Book I ii 



-*S Isaiah 



ii 

Through Judgment to Glory 

And it shall come to pass in the latter days, that the 
mountain of the LORD'S house shall be established at the 
head of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills ; 
and all nations shall flow unto it. And many peoples 
shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the moun- 
tain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; anct 
he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths : 
for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the 
Lord from Jerttsalem. And he shall judge between the 
nations, and shall reprove many peoples : and they shall 
beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into 
pruninghooks : nation shall not lift up sword against 
nation, neither shall they learn war any more. 

O house of Jacob, come ye, and let us walk in the light 
of the Lord. For thou hast forsaken thy people the house 
of Jacob, because they be filled with customs from the east, 
and are soothsayers like the Philistines, and they strike 
hands with the children of strangers. Their land also is 
full of silver and gold, neither is there any end of their 
treasures ; their land also is full of horses, neither is there 
any end of their chariots. Their land also is full of idols ; 

IO 



General Prophecies 



Book I ii 



they worship the work of their own hands, that which their 
own fingers have made. And the mean man boweth down, 
and the great man humbleth himself: therefore forgive 
them not. 

Enter into the rock, and hide thee in the dust, from 
before the terror of the Lord, and from the glory of his 
majesty. The lofty looks of man shall be brought low, 
and the haughtiness of men shall be bowed down, and the 
Lord alone shall be exalted in that day. For there shall 
be a day of the Lord of hosts upon all that is proud and 
haughty, and upon all that is lifted up ; and it shall be 
brought low: and upon all the cedars of Lebanon, that 
are high and lifted up, and upon all the oaks of Bashan ; 
and upon all the high mountains, and upon all the hills 
that are lifted up ; and upon every lofty tower, and upon 
every fenced wall ; and upon all the ships of Tarshish, and 
upon all pleasant watch-towers. And the loftiness of man 
shall be bowed down, and the haughtiness of men shall be 
brought low : and the Lord alone shall be exalted in that 
day. And the idols shall utterly pass away. And men 
shall go into the caves of the rocks, and into the holes 
of the earth, from before the terror of the Lord, and 
from the glory of his majesty, when he ariseth to shake 
mightily the earth. In that day a man shall cast away his 
idols of silver, and his idols of gold, which they made for 
him to worship, to the moles and to the bats ; to go into 
the caverns of the rocks, and into the clefts of the ragged 

ii 



Book I ii 



-*S Isaiah 



rocks, from before the terror of the Lord, and from the 
giory of his majesty, when he ariseth to shake mightily 
the earth. 

Cease ye from man, whose breath is in his nostrils : for 
wherein is he to be accounted of ? For, behold, the Lord, 
the Lord of hosts, doth take away from Jerusalem and 
from Judah stay and staff, the whole stay of bread, and the 
whole stay of water; the mighty man, and the man of 
war ; the judge, and the prophet, and the diviner, and the 
ancient ; the captain of fifty, and the honourable man, and 
the counsellor, and the cunning artificer, and the skilful 
enchanter. And I will give children to be their princes, 
and babes shall rule over them. And the people shall be 
oppressed, every one by another, and every one by his 
neighbour : the child shall behave himself proudly against 
the ancient, and the base against the honourable. When 
a man shall take hold of his brother in the house of his 
father, saying, Thou hast clothing, be thou our ruler, and 
let this ruin be under thy hand : in that day shall he lift 
up his voice, saying, I will not be an healer; for in my 
house is neither bread nor clothing : ye shall not make 
me ruler of the people. For Jerusalem is mined, and 
Judah is fallen : because their tongue and their doings are 
against the Lord, to provoke the eyes of his glory. The 
shew of their countenance doth witness against them ; and 
they declare their sin as Sodom, they hide it not. Woe 
unto their soul ! for they have rewarded evil unto them- 

12 



General Prophecies 8*- 



Book I ii 



selves. Say ye of the righteous, that it shall be well with 
him : for they shall eat the fruit of their doings. Woe 
unto the wicked ! it shall be ill with him : for the doing 
of his hands shall be done to him. As for my people, 
children are their oppressors, and women rule over them. 
O my people, they which lead thee cause thee to err, and 
destroy the way of thy paths. The Lord standeth up to 
plead, and standeth to judge the peoples. The Lord will 
enter into judgement with the elders of his people, and the 
princes thereof : It is ye that have eaten up the vineyard ; 
the spoil of the poor is in your houses : what mean ye 
that ye crush my people, and grind the face of the poor ? 
saith the Lord, the Lord of hosts. 

Moreover the Lord said, Because the daughters of Zion 
are haughty, and walk with stretched forth necks and wan- 
ton eyes, walking and mincing as they go, and making a 
tinkling with their feet : therefore the Lord will smite 
with a scab the crown of the head of the daughters of 
Zion, and the Lord will lay bare their secret parts. In 
that day the Lord will take away the bravery of their 
anklets, and the cauls, and the crescents ; the pendants, 
and the bracelets, and the mufflers ; the headtires, and 
the ankle chains, and the sashes, and the perfume boxes, 
and the amulets ; the rings, and the nose jewels ; the festival 
robes, and the mantles, and the shawls, and the satchels ; 
the hand mirrors, and the fine linen, and the turbans, and 
the veils. And it shall come to pass, that instead of sweet 

13 



Book I ii 



-*8 Isaiah 



spices there shall be rottenness ; and instead of a girdle a 
rope ; and instead of well set hair baldness ; and instead 
of a stomacher a girding of sackcloth : branding instead 
of beauty. Thy men shall fall by the sword, and thy 
mighty in the war. And her gates shall lament and 
mourn ; and she shall be desolate and sit upon the ground. 
And seven women shall take hold of one man in that day, 
saying, We will eat our own bread, and wear our own 
apparel : only let us be called by thy name ; take thou 
away our reproach. 

In that day shall the branch of the Lord be beautiful 
and glorious, and the fruit of the land shall be excellent 
and comely for them that are escaped of Israel. And it 
shall come to pass, that he that is left in Zion, and he that 
remaineth in Jerusalem, shall be called holy, even every 
one that is written among the living in Jerusalem : when 
the Lord shall have washed away the filth of the daughters 
of Zion, and shall have purged the blood of Jerusalem from 
the midst thereof, by the blast of judgement, and by the 
blast of burning. And the Lord will create over the 
whole habitation of mount Zion, and over her assemblies, 
a cloud and smoke by day, and the shining of a flaming 
fire by night : for over all the glory shall be spread a 
canopy. And there shall be a pavilion for a shadow in 
the day-time from the heat, and for a refuge and for a 
covert from storm and from rain. 

14 



General Prophecies 8«- 



Book I iii 



iii 

Parable of the Vineyard 

Let me sing of my wellbeloved a song of my beloved 
touching his vineyard. 

My wellbeloved had a vineyard 

In a very fruitful hill : 
And he made a trench about it, 
And gathered out the stones thereof, 
And planted it with the choicest vine, 
And built a tower in the midst of it, 
And also hewed out a winepress therein : 

And he looked that it should bring forth grapes — 

and it brought forth wild grapes ! And now, O inhabitants 
of Jerusalem and men of Judah, judge, I pray you, betwixt 
me and my vineyard. What could have been done more 
to my vineyard, that I have not done in it? Wherefore, 
when I looked that it should bring forth grapes, brought 
it forth wild grapes ? 

And now go to ; I will tell you what I will do to my 
vineyard : I will take away the hedge thereof, and it shall 
be eaten up ; I will break down the fence thereof, and it 
shall be trodden down : and I will lay it waste ; it shall 
not be pruned nor hoed ; but there shall come up briers 

i5 



Book I iv 



-*S Isaiah 



and thorns : I will also command the clouds that they rain 
no rain upon it. 

For the vineyard of the Lord of hosts is the house, of 
Israel, and the men of Judah his pleasant plant : and he 
looked for judgement, but behold oppression ; for righteous- 
ness, but behold a cry. 



iv 

A Sevenfold Woe 
i 

Woe unto them 

That join house to house, 
That lay field to field, 
Till there be no room, 

And ye be made to dwell alone in the midst of 
the land ! 

In mine ears saith the Lord of hosts : Of a truth many 
houses shall be desolate, even great and fair, without in- 
habitant. For ten acres of vineyard shall yield one bath, 
and a homer of seed shall yield but an ephah. 

2 

Woe unto them 

That rise up early in the morning, 
16 



General Prophecies 



Book I iv 



That they may follow strong drink ; 
That tarry late into the night, 

Till wine inflame them. 
And the harp, and the lute, the tibret, and the pipe, 

And wine are in their feasts : 
But they regard not the work of the Lord, 

Neither have they considered the operation of 
his hands ! 

Therefore my people are gone into captivity, for lack of 
knowledge : and their honourable men are famished, and 
their multitude are parched with thirst. 

Therefore hell hath enlarged her desire, and opened her 
mouth without measure : and their glory, and their multi- 
tude, and their pomp, and he that rejoiceth among them, 
descend into it. And the mean man is bowed down, and 
the great man is humbled, and the eyes of the lofty are 
humbled : but the Lord of hosts is exalted in judgement, 
and God the Holy One is sanctified in righteousness. 
Then shall the lambs feed as in their pasture, and the 
waste places of the fat ones shall wanderers eat. 

3 

Woe unto them 

That draw iniquity with cords of vanity 
And sin as it were with a cart rope : 
6 Let him make speed, let him hasten his work, 
i That we may see it ; 
c 17 



Book I iv 



-*8 Isaiah 



i And let the counsel of the Holy One of Israel draw 
nigh and come, 
' That we may know it ! ' 



4 

Woe unto them 

That call evil good, 

And good evil ; 
That put darkness for light, 

And light for darkness ; 
That put bitter for sweet, 

And sweet for bitter! 



5 

Woe unto them 

That are wise in their own eyes, 
And prudent in their own sight ! 

6 

Woe unto them 

That are mighty to drink wine, 

And men of strength to mingle strong drink : 
Which justify the wicked for a reward, 

And take away the righteousness of the righteous 
from him. 



Therefore as the tongue of fire devoureth the stubble, 
and as the dry grass sinketh down in the flame, so their 

18 



General Prophecies 6^- 



Book I iv 



root shall be as rottenness, and their blossom shall go up 
as dust : because they have rejected the law of the Lord 
of hosts, and despised the word of the Holy One of Israel. 

Therefore is the anger of the Lord kindled against his 
people, and he hath stretched forth his hand against them, 
and hath smitten them, and the hills did tremble, and their 
carcases were as refuse in the midst of the streets. 

7 , 

For all this his anger is not turned away, 
But his hand is stretched out still ! 

And he will lift up an ensign to the nations from far, 
And will hiss for them from the end of the earth : 
And, behold, they shall come with speed swiftly : 

None shall be weary nor stumble among them, 
None shall slumber nor sleep ; 
Neither shall the girdle of their loins be loosed, 
Nor the latchet of their shoes be broken : 

Whose arrows are sharp, 
And all their bows bent ; 
Their horses 1 hoofs shall be counted like flint, 
And their wheels like a whirlwind : 

Their roaring shall be like a lion, 
They shall roar like young lions : 
19 



Book I v 



-*8 Isaiah 



Yea, they shall roar, and lay hold of the prey, 
And carry it away safe, and there shall be none to 
deliver. 

And they shall roar against them in that day like the 

roaring of the sea : 
And if one look unto the land, behold, darkness and 

distress, 

And the light is darkened in the clouds thereof. 



V 

The Call of the Prophet 

In the year that king Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting 
upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the 
temple. Above him stood the seraphim : each one had 
six wings ; with twain he covered his face, and with twain 
he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly. And one 
cried unto another : 

Chorus of Seraphim 
Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of hosts ! 

Answering Chorus 
The fulness of the whole earth is his glory ! 

20 



General Prophecies B^- 



Book I v 



And the foundations of the thresholds were moved at the 
voice of him that cried, and the house was filled with 
smoke. Then said I : 

Woe is me, for I am undone ! 

Because I am a man of unclean lips, 

And I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips : 
For mine eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts ! 

Then flew one of the seraphim unto me, having a live coal 
in his hand, which he had taken with the tongs from off 
the altar : and he touched my mouth with it, and said : 

Lo, this hath touched thy lips ; 

And thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged. 

And I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I 
send, and who will go for us ? Then I said, Here am I ; 
send me. 

And he said, Go, and tell this people, Hear ye indeed, 
but understand not ; and see ye indeed, but perceive not. 
Make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears 
heavy, and shut their eyes ; lest they see with their eyes, 
and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, 
and turn again, and be healed. 

Then said I, Lord, how long ? And he answered, 
Until cities be waste without inhabitant, and houses with- 
out man, and the land become utterly waste, and the Lord 

21 



Book I v 



-*8 Isaiah 



have removed men far away, and the forsaken places be 
many in the midst of the land. And if there be yet a 
tenth in it, it shall again be eaten up : as a terebinth, and 
as an oak, whose stock remaineth when they are felled, 
so the holy seed is the stock thereof. 

22 



Book II 



PROPHECIES OF THE UNHOLY ALLIANCE 
AND THE SIGN IMMANUEL 



1 

To King Ahaz 

And it came to pass in the days of Ahaz the son of 
Jotham, the son of Uzziah, king of Judah, that Rezin the 
king of Syria, and Pekah the son of Remaliah, king of 
Israel, went up to Jerusalem to war against it ; but could 
not prevail against it. And it was told the house of 
David, saying, Syria is confederate with Ephraim. And 
his heart was moved, and the heart of his people, as tne 
trees of the forest are moved with the wind. 

Then said the Lord unto Isaiah, Go forth now to meet 
Ahaz, thou, and Shear-jashub thy son, at the end of the 
conduit of the upper pool, in the high way of the fuller's 
field ; and say unto him, Take heed, and be quiet ; fear 
not, neither let thine heart be faint, because of these two 
tails of smoking firebrands — 

' For the fierce anger of Rezin and Syria, 
' And of the son of Remaliah. — ' 

Because Syria hath counselled evil against thee, Ephraim 
also, and the son of Remaliah, — 

25 



Book II i 



-*8 Isaiah 



' Let us go up against Judah, and vex it. 
6 And let us make a breach therein for us, 
6 And set up a king in the midst of it, even the son of 
Tabeel ' — 

thus saith the Lord God: It shall not stand, neither 
shall it come to pass : — 

6 For the head of Syria is Damascus, 
1 And the head of Damascus is Rezin : 1 

and within threescore and five years shall Ephraim be 
broken in pieces, that it be not a people : 

6 And the head of Ephraim is Samaria, 

6 And the head of Samaria is Remaliah's son. 

If ye will not believe, surely ye shall not be established. 

And the Lord spake again unto Ahaz, saying, Ask thee 
a sign of the Lord thy God ; ask it either in the depth, or 
in the height above. But Ahaz said, I will not ask, neither 
will I tempt the Lord. And he said, Hear ye now, O 
house of David ; is it a small thing for you to weary men, 
that ye will weary my God also? Therefore the Lord 
himself shall give you a sign ; behold, a virgin is with 
child, and beareth a son, and shall call his name ' God-with- 
us.'* Butter and honey shall he eat, when he knoweth to 

* Immanuel. 
26 



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Book II ii 



refuse the evil, and choose the good. For before the child 
shall know to refuse the evil, and choose the good, the 
land whose two kings thou abhorrest shall be forsaken. 

ii 

To the King of Israel 

The Lord shall bring upon thee, and upon thy people, 
and upon thy fathers house, days that have not come, 
from the day that Ephraim departed from Judah ; even 
the king of Assyria. 

The Fly and the Bee 

And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord 
shall hiss for the fly that is in the uttermost part of the 
rivers of Egypt, and for the bee that is in the land of 
Assyria. And they shall come, and shall rest all of them 
in the desolate valleys, and in the holes of the rocks, and 
upon all thorns, and upon all pastures. 

The Razor 

In that day shall the Lord shave with a razor that is 
hired, which is in the parts beyond the River, even with 

27 



Book II ii 



-*S Isaiah 



the king of Assyria, the head and the hair of the feet : and 
it shall also consume the beard. 

Butter and Honey 

And it shall come to pass in that day, that a man shall 
nourish a young cow, and two sheep ; and it shall come to 
pass, for the abundance of milk that they shall give he shall 
eat butter : for butter and honey shall every one eat that 
is left in the midst of the land. 

% 

Briers and Thorns 

And it shall come to pass in that day, that every place, 
where there were a thousand vines at a thousand silver- 
lings, shall even be for briers and thorns. With arrows 
and with bow shall one come thither ; because all the land 
shall be briers and thorns. And all the hills that were 
digged with the mattock, thou shalt not come thither for 
fear of briers and thorns, but it shall be for the sending 
forth of oxen, and for the treading of sheep. 

% 

Maher-shalal-hash-baz 

And the Lord said unto me, Take thee a great tablet, 
and write upon it in common characters, For Maher-shalal- 

28 



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Book II ii 



hash-baz ; and I will take unto me faithful witnesses to 
record, Uriah the priest, and Zechariah the son of Jebere- 
chiah. And I went unto the prophetess ; and she con- 
ceived, and bare a son. Then said the Lord unto me, 
Call his name ' Maher-shalal-hash-baz.' For before the 
child shall have knowledge to cry, My father, and, My 
mother, the riches of Damascus and the ' spoil' of Samaria 
shall be ' carried away ' before the king of Assyria. 

The River 

And the Lord spake unto me yet again, saying, Foras- 
much as this people hath refused the waters of Shiloah 
that go softly, and rejoice in Rezin and Remaliah's son ; 
now therefore, behold, the Lord bringeth up upon them 
the waters of the River, strong and many, even the king 
of Assyria and all his glory : and he shall come up over 
all his channels, and go over all his banks : and he shall 
sweep onward into Judah ; he shall overflow and pass 
through ; he shall reach even to the neck ; and the stretch- 
ing out of his wings shall fill the breadth of thy land, O 
God-with-us ! * 

* Immanuel. 
29 



Book II iii 



-*8 Isaiah 



iii 

Judah and her Enemies 



Make an uproar, O ye peoples, 

And ye shall be broken in pieces ; 
(And give ear, all ye of far countries ;) 
Gird yourselves, 

And ye shall be broken in pieces ; 
Gird yourselves, 

And ye shall be broken in pieces ; 
Take counsel together, 

And it shall be brought to nought ; 
Speak the word, 

And it shall not stand : 
For God is with us.* 

For the Lord spake thus to me with a strong hand, and 
instructed me that I should not walk in the way of this 
people, saying : " Say ye not, A conspiracy, concerning all 
whereof this people shall say, A conspiracy ; neither fear 
ye their fear, nor be in dread thereof. The Lord of hosts, 
him shall ye sanctify ; and let him be your fear, and let 
him be your dread. And he shall be for a sanctuary ; but 
for a stone of stumbling and for a rock of offence to both 

* Immanu El. 
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Book II iii 



the houses of Israel, for a gin and for a snare to the in- 
habitants of Jerusalem. And many shall stumble thereon, 
and fall, and be broken, and be snared, and be taken. 
Bind thou up the testimony, seal the law among my dis- 
ciples." 

(And I will wait for the Lord, that hideth his face from 
the house of Jacob, and I will look for him. Behold, I and 
the children whom the Lord hath given me are for signs 
and for wonders in Israel from the Lord of hosts, which 
dwelleth in mount Zion.) 

"And when they shall say unto you, Seek unto them 
that have familiar spirits and unto the wizards, that chirp 
and that mutter: should not a people seek unto their 
God? on behalf of the living should they seek unto the 
dead ? To the law and to the testimony ! if they speak 
not according to this word, surely there is no morning for 
them." 

2 

6 And they shall pass through it, hardly bestead and 
hungry : 

' And it shall come to pass that, when they shall be 

hungry, 
' They shall fret themselves, 
6 And curse their king and their God : 

6 And turn their faces upward, 
' And they shall look unto the earth : 
3i 



Book II iii 



-*8 Isaiah 



1 And, behold, distress and darkness, 
' The gloom of anguish.' 

And thick darkness shall be driven away ; 

For there shall be no gloom to her that was in anguish. 

' In the former time he brought into contempt 
' The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali ; 
6 But in the latter time hath he made it glorious, 
' By the way of the sea, beyond Jordan, Galilee of 
the nations.' 

The people that walked in darkness 
Have seen a great light ; 

They that dwelt in the land of the shadow of death, 
Upon them hath the light shined. 

6 Thou hast multiplied the nation, 

6 Thou hast increased their joy : 

6 They joy before thee according to the joy in harvest, 

6 As men rejoice when they divide the spoil.' 

For the yoke of his burden 

And the staff of his shoulder, 

The rod of his oppressor, 

Thou hast broken as in the day of Midian. 

For all the armour of the armed man in the tumult, 
And the garments rolled in blood, 
32 



The Unholy Alliance B<- 



Book II iv 



Shall even be for burning, 
For fuel of fire. 

3 

For unto us a child is born, 
Unto us a son is given ; 

And the government shall be upon his shoulder : 
And his name shall be called, Wonderful Coun- 
sellor, 

Mighty God, Everlasting Father, 
Prince of Peace. 

Of the increase of his government, 
And of peace, there shall be no end 

Upon the throne of David and upon his kingdom ; 
To establish it, and to uphold it with judgement, 
And with righteousness, from henceforth even for ever. 

The zeal of the Lord of hosts shall perform this. 

iv 

Doom of the North 
i 

The Lord sent a word into Jacob, 
And it hath lighted upon Israel. 
r> 33 



Book II iv 



-sg Isaiah 



And all the people shall know, even Ephraim and the 
inhabitant of Samaria, that say in pride and in stoutness 
of heart, 

The bricks are fallen, 

But we will build with hewn stone ; 
The sycomores are cut down, 

But we will change them into cedars. 

Therefore the Lord shall set up on high against him the 
adversaries of Rezin, and shall stir up his enemies ; the 
Syrians before, and the Philistines behind ; and they shall 
devour Israel with open mouth. 

For all this his anger is not turned away, 
But his hand is stretched out still ! 

2 

Yet the people hath not turned unto him that smote 
them, 

Neither have they sought the Lord of hosts. 

Therefore the Lord will cut off from Israel head and tail, 
palm-branch and rush, in one day. 

The ancient and the honourable man, 
He is the head ; 

34 



The Unholy Alliance 8*- 



Book II iv 



And the prophet that teacheth lies, 
He is the tail. 

For they that lead this people cause them to err ; and they 
that are led of them are destroyed. Therefore the Lord 
shall not rejoice over their young men, neither shall he 
have compassion on their fatherless and widows : for every 
one is profane and an evil-doer, and every mouth speaketh 
folly. 

For all this his anger is not turned away, 
But his hand is stretched out still I 

3 

For wickedness burneth as the fire ; 
It devoureth the briers and thorns : 

yea, it kindleth in the thickets of the forest, and they roll 
upward in thick clouds of smoke. Through the wrath of 
the Lord of hosts is the land burnt up : the people also 
are as the fuel of fire ; no man spareth his brother. 

And one shall snatch on the right hand, 

And be hungry ; 
And he shall eat on the left hand, 

And they shall not be satisfied : 
35 



Book II iv 



-*S Isaiah 



they shall eat every man the flesh of his own arm : 
Manasseh, Ephraim ; and Ephraim, Manasseh : and they 
together shall be against Judah. 

For all this his anger is not turned away, 
But his hand is stretched out still ! 

4 

Woe unto them that decree unrighteous decrees, 
And to the writers that write perverseness : 

to turn aside the needy from judgement, and to take away 
the right of the poor of my people, that widows may be 
their spoil, and that they may make the fatherless their 
prey ! 

And what will ye do in the day of visitation, 

And in the desolation which shall come from far? 

To whom will ye flee for help ? 

And where will ye leave your glory? 

They shall only bow down under the prisoners, and shall 
fall under the slain. 

For all this his anger is not turned away, 
But his hand is stretched out STILL ! 

36 



Book III 

PROPHECY OF ASSYRIAN INVASION 



I 



Ho Assyrian, the rod of mine anger, the staff in whose 
hand is mine indignation ! I will send him against a pro- 
fane nation, and against the people of my wrath will I 
give him a charge, to take the spoil, and to take the prey, 
and to tread them down like the mire of the streets. 
Howbeit he meaneth not so, neither doth his heart think 
so ; but it is in his heart to destroy, and to cut off nations 
not a few. For he saith, 6 Are not my princes all of them 
kings? Is not Calno as Carchemish? is not Hamath as 
Arpad ? is not Samaria as Damascus ? As my hand hath 
found the kingdoms of the idols, whose graven images did 
excel them of Jerusalem and of Samaria ; shall I not, as 
I have done unto Samaria and her idols, so do to Jerusa- 
lem and her idols ? ' 

Wherefore it shall come to pass, that when the Lord 
hath performed his whole work upon Mount Zion and on 
Jerusalem, I will punish the fruit of the stout heart of the 
king of Assyria, and the glory of his high looks. For he 
hath said, 6 By the strength of my hand I have done ity 
and by my wisdom ; for I am prudent : and I have re- 
moved the bounds of the peoples, and have robbed their 

39 



Book III 



-*8 Isaiah 



treasures, and I have brought down as a valiant man them 
that sit on thrones : and my hand hath found as a nest 
the riches of the peoples ; and as one gathereth eggs that 
are forsaken, have I gathered all the earth : and there was 
none that moved the wing, or that opened the mouth, or 
chirped.' Shall the axe boast itself against him that 
heweth therewith? shall the saw magnify itself against 
him that shaketh it? as if a rod should shake them that 
lift it up, or as if a staff should lift up him that is not 
wood. 

Therefore shall the Lord, the Lord of hosts, send 
among his fat ones leanness ; and under his glory there 
shall be kindled a burning like the burning of fire. And 
the light of Israel shall be for a fire, and his Holy One 
for a flame : and it shall burn and devour his thorns and 
his briers in one day. And he shall consume the glory 
of his forest, and of his fruitful field, both soul and body : 
and it shall be as when a standardbearer fainteth. And 
the remnant of the trees of his forest shall be few, that a 
child may write them. 

And it shall come to pass in that day, that the remnant 
of Israel, and they that are escaped of the house of Jacob, 
shall no more again stay upon him that smote them ; but 
shall stay upon the Lord, the Holy One of Israel, in truth. 
A remnant shall return, even the remnant of Jacob, unto 
the mighty God. For though thy people Israel be as the 
sand of the sea, only a remnant of them shall return : a 

40 



The Assyrian Invasion 8«- 



Book III 



consumption is determined, overflowing with righteous- 
ness. For a consummation, and that determined, shall the 
Lord, the Lord of hosts, make in the midst of all the 
earth. 

Therefore thus saith the Lord, the Lord of hosts : O 
my people that dwellest in Zion, be not afraid of the 
Assyrian : though he smite thee with the rod, and lift up 
his staff against thee, after the manner of Egypt. For yet 
a very little while, and the indignation shall be accom- 
plished, and mine anger, in their destruction. And the 
Lord of hosts shall stir up against him a scourge, as in 
the slaughter of Midian at the rock of Oreb : and his rod 
shall be over the sea, and he shall lift it up after the man- 
ner of Egypt. And it shall come to pass in that day, that 
his burden shall depart from off thy shoulder, and his 
yoke from off thy neck, and the yoke shall be destroyed 
by reason of fatness. 

2 

i He is come to Aiath ' — 
' He is passed through Migron ' — 
6 At Michmash he layeth up his baggage 1 — 
* They are gone over the pass ' — 
'They have taken up their lodging at Geba' — 
1 Ramah trembleth 1 — 
'Gibeah of Saul is fled.' — 
4i 



Book III 



-*S Isaiah 



Cry aloud with thy voice, O daughter of Gallim ' 
Hearken, O Laishah ! 
O thou poor Anathoth ! 
Madmenah is a fugitive — 

The inhabitants of Gebim gather themselves to 
nee — 

This very day shall he halt at Nob — 
He shaketh his hand at the mount of the daughter 
of Zion, the hill of Jerusalem. 

Behold, the Lord, the Lord of hosts, shall lop the 
boughs with terror : and the high ones of stature shall be 
hewn down, and the lofty shall be brought low. And he 
shall cut down the thickets of the forest with iron, and 
Lebanon shall fall by a mighty one. And there shall 
come forth a shoot out of the stock of Jesse, and a branch 
out of his roots shall bear fruit : and the spirit of the 
Lord shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and under- 
standing, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of 
knowledge and of the fear of the Lord ; and his delight 
shall be in the fear of the Lord : and he shall not judge 
after the sight of his eyes, neither reprove after the hear- 
ing of his ears : but with righteousness shall he judge the 
poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth : 
and he shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth, 
and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked. 
And righteousness shall be the girdle of his loins, and 

42 



The Assyrian Invasion 8«- 



Book III 



faithfulness the girdle of his reins. And the wolf shall 
dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with 
the kid ; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling 
together; and a little child shall lead them. And the 
cow and the bear shall feed ; their young ones shall lie 
down together : and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. 
And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp, 
and the weaned child shall put his hand on the basilisk's 
den. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy 
mountain : for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of 
the Lord, as the waters cover the sea. 

And it shall come to pass in that day, that the root of 
Jesse, which standeth for an ensign of the peoples, unto 
him shall the nations seek ; and his resting place shall be 
glorious. 

And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord 
shall set his hand again the second time to recover the 
remnant of his people, which shall remain, from Assyria, 
and from Egypt, and from Pathros, and from Cush, and 
from Elam, and from Shinar, and from Hamath, and from 
the islands of the sea. And he shall set up an ensign 
for the nations, and shall assemble the outcasts of Israel, 
and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four 
corners of the earth. The envy also of Ephraim shall 
depart, and they that vex Judah shall be cut off : Ephraim 
shall not envy Judah, and Judah shall not vex Ephraim. 
And they shall fly down upon the shoulder of the Philis- 

43 



Book III 



-*8 Isaiah 



tines on the west ; together shall they spoil the children 
of the east : they shall put forth their hand upon Edom 
and Moab ; and the children of Ammon shall obey them. 
And the Lord shall utterly destroy the tongue of the 
Egyptian Sea ; and with his scorching wind shall he shake 
his hand over the River, and shall smite it into seven 
streams, and cause men to march over dryshod. And 
there shall be an high way for the remnant of his people, 
which shall remain, from Assyria ; like as there was for 
Israel in the day that he came up out of the land of Egypt. 
And in that day thou shalt say : 

Song in that Day 

I will give thanks unto thee, O Lord, 
For though thou wast angry with me, 
Thine anger is turned away, 
And thou comfortest me. 

Behold, God is my salvation ; 

I will trust, and will not be afraid : 

For the Lord Jehovah is my strength and song ; 

And he is become my salvation. 

Therefore with joy shall ye draw water out of the wells 
of salvation. 

44 



The Assyrian Invasion 8«- 



Book III 



Well Song in that Day 

Give thanks unto the Lord, 

Call upon his name, 
Declare his doings among the peoples, 

Make mention that his name is exalted. 

Sing unto the Lord, for he hath done excellent things : 

Let this be known in all the earth. 
Cry aloud, and shout, thou inhabitant of Zion : 

For great is the Holy one of Israel in the midst of thee. 
45 



Book IV 

DOOMS OF THE NATIONS 



i 



Doom of Babylon 

Set ye up an ensign upon the bare mountain, lift up the 
voice unto them, wave the hand, that they may go into the 
gates of the nobles. I have commanded my consecrated 
ones, yea, I have called my mighty men for mine anger, 
even them that exult in my majesty. 

The noise of a multitude in the mountains, 
Like as of a great people ! 
The noise of a tumult 

Of the kingdoms of the nations gathered together ! 

The Lord of Hosts 

Mustereth the Host for the battle ; 
They come from a far country, 
From the uttermost part of heaven : 

Even the Lord, and the weapons of his indignation, 
To destroy the whole land. 
Howl ye, for the Day of the Lord is at hand : 
As destruction from the Almighty shall it come. 
E 49 



Book IV i 



-»S Isaiah 



Therefore shall all hands be feeble, and ever} 7 heart of 
man shall melt : and they shall be dismayed ; pangs and 
sorrows shall take hold of them ; they shall be in pain as 
a woman in travail ; they shall be amazed one at another ; 
their faces shall be faces of flame. 

Behold, the Day of the Lord cometh, 
Cruel, with wrath and fierce anger ; 
To make the land a desolation, 
And to destroy the sinners thereof out of it. 

For the stars of heaven and the constellations thereof 
shall not give their light : the sun shall be darkened in 
his going forth, and the moon shall not cause her light to 
shine. And I will punish the world for their evil, and the 
wicked for their iniquity ; and I will cause the arrogancy 
of the proud to cease, and will lay low the haughtiness of 
the terrible. I will make a man more rare than fine gold, 
even a man than the pure gold of Ophir. Therefore I 
will make the heavens to tremble, and the earth shall be 
shaken out of her place, in the wrath of the Lord of hosts, 
and in the day of his fierce anger. And it shall come to 
pass, that as the chased roe, and as sheep that no man 
gathereth, they shall turn every man to his own people, 
and shall flee every man to his own land. Every one that 
is found shall be thrust through ; and every one that is 
taken shall fall by the sword. Their infants also shall be 

5° 



Dooms of the Nations 



Book IV i 



dashed in pieces before their eyes ; their houses shall be 
spoiled, and their wives ravished. Behold, I will stir up 
the Medes against them, which shall not regard silver, and 
as for gold, they shall not delight in it. And their bows 
shall dash the young men in pieces ; and they shall have 
no pity on the fruit of the womb ; their eye shall not spare 
children. 

And Babylon, 

The glory of kingdoms, 
The beauty of the Chaldeans' pride, 
Shall be as when God overthrew Sodom and Go- 
morrah. 

It shall never be inhabited, 

Neither shall it be dwelt in from generation to 

generation ; 
Neither shall the Arabian pitch tent there ; 
Neither shall shepherds make their flocks to lie 

down there. 

But wild beasts of the desert shall lie there ; 

And their houses shall be full of doleful creatures ; 
And ostriches shall dwell there, 
And satyrs shall dance there. 

And wolves shall cry in their castles, 
And jackals in the pleasant palaces : 
5i 



Book IV i 



-*8 Isaiah 



And her time is near to come, 

And her days shall not be prolonged. 

For the Lord will have compassion on Jacob, and will 
yet choose Israel, and set them in their own land : and the 
stranger shall join himself with them, and they shall cleave 
to the house of Jacob. And the peoples shall take them, 
and bring them to their place : and the house of Israel 
shall possess them in the land of the Lord for servants 
and for handmaids : and they shall take them captive, 
whose captives they were ; and they shall rule over their 
oppressors. And it shall come to pass in the day that the 
Lord shall give thee rest from thy sorrow, and from thy 
trouble, and from the hard service wherein thou wast made 
to serve, that thou shalt take up this parable against the 
king of Babylon, and say : 

How hath the oppressor ceased! 

The golden city ceased ! 
The Lord hath broken the staff of the wicked, 

The sceptre of the rulers ; 
He that smote the peoples in wrath with a continual stroke 

That ruled the nations in anger, 
Is persecuted, 

And none hindereth! 
The whole earth is at rest, and is quiet : 

They break forth into singing : 
52 



Dooms of the Nations 8s- 



Book IV i 



Yea, the fir trees rejoice at thee, 

And the cedars of Lebanon : 

6 Since thou art laid down, 

'No feller is come up against us.' 



Hell from beneath is moved for thee, 

To meet thee at thy coming : 
It stirreth up the dead for thee, 

Even all the chief ones of the earth ; 
It hath raised up from their thrones all the kings 
of the nations, 

All they shall answer and say unto thee : 
6 Art thou also become weak as we ? 

' Art thou become like unto us ? ' 
Thy pomp is brought down to hell, 

And the noise of thy viols : 
The worm is spread under thee, 

And worms cover thee. 

How art thou fallen from heaven, 

O Day Star, son of the morning I 
How art thou cut down to the ground, 

Which didst lay low the nations ! 
And thou saidst in thine heart, i I will ascend into 
heaven, 

6 1 will exalt my throne above the stars of 
God ; 

53 



Book IV i 



-*S Isaiah 



6 And I will sit upon the mount of congregation, 
4 In the uttermost parts of the north : 

i I will ascend above the heights of the clouds ; 
6 I will be like the Most High.' 

Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, 
To the uttermost parts of the pit. 

They that see thee shall narrowly look upon thee, 

They shall consider thee : 
* Is this the man that made the earth to tremble, 

4 That did shake kingdoms ; 
' That made the world as a wilderness, and overthrew the 
cities thereof, 

6 That let not loose his prisoners to their home ? 1 
All the kings of the nations, all of them, sleep in glory, 

Every one in his own house : 
But thou art cast forth away from thy sepulchre, 

Like an abominable branch, 
As the raiment of those that are slain, 

That are thrust through with the sword, 
That go down to the stones of the pit ; 

As a carcase trodden under foot. 

Thou shalt not be joined with them in burial, because 
thou hast destroyed thy land, thou hast slain thy people ; 
the seed of evil-doers shall not be named for ever. Pre- 
pare ye slaughter for his children for the iniquity of their 

54 



Dooms of the Nations 8«- 



Book IV ii 



fathers ; that they rise not up, and possess the earth, and 
fill the face of the world with cities. And I will rise up 
against them, saith the Lord of hosts, and cut off from 
Babylon name and remnant, and son and son's son, saith 
the Lord. I will also make it a possession for the porcu- 
pine, and pools of water: and I will sweep it with the 
besom of destruction, saith the Lord of hosts. 

ii 

Doom of Assyria 

The Lord of hosts hath sworn, saying, Surely as I have 
thought, so shall it come to pass ; and as I have purposed, 
so shall it stand: that I will break the Assyrian in my 
land, and upon my mountains tread him under foot : then 
shall his yoke depart from off them, and his burden depart 
from off their shoulder. This is the purpose that is pur- 
posed upon the whole earth : and this is the hand that is 
stretched out upon all the nations. For the Lord of 
hosts hath purposed, and who shall disannul it ? and his 
hand is stretched out, and who shall turn it back ? 

55 



Book IV iii 



-*9 Isaiah 



iii 

Doom of Philistia* 

Rejoice not, O Philistia, all of thee, 
Because the rod that smote thee is broken : 

For out of the serpent's root shall come a 
basilisk, 

And his fruit shall be a fiery flying serpent. 

And the firstborn of the poor shall feed, 
v And the needy shall lie down in safety : 
And I will kill thy root with famine, 
And thy remnant shall be slain. 

Howl, O gate ; cry, O city ; 

Thou art melted away, O Philistia, all of thee ; 
For there cometh a smoke out of the north, 
And none standeth aloof at his appointed times. 

What then shall one answer the messengers of the na- 
tion? That the Lord hath founded Zion, and in her 
shall the afflicted of his people take refuge. 



* In the year that King Ahaz died was this oracle. 
56 



Dooms of the Nations 8*- 



Book IV iv 



iv 

Doom of Moab 
i 

For in a night Ar of Moab is laid waste, and brought 
to nought! 

For in a night Kir of Moab is laid waste, and 
brought to nought ! 
Bayith and Dibon are gone up to the high places to 
weep ; 

Moab howleth upon Nebo, and upon Medeba ! 

On all their heads is baldness, every beard is cut off ; 

In their streets they gird themselves with sackcloth : 
On their housetops, and in their broad places, every 
one howleth, 

Weeping abundantly. 

And Heshbon crieth out, and Elealeh; 

Their voice is heard even unto Jahaz : 
Therefore the armed men of Moab cry aloud, 

His soul trembleth within him. 

My heart crieth out for Moab ; 

Her nobles flee unto Zoar, to Eglath-shelishiyah ; 
57 



Book IV iv 



-*S Isaiah 



For by the ascent of Luhith with weeping they go up ; 
For in the way of Horonaim they raise up a cry of 
destruction. 

For the waters of Nimrim shall be desolate : 

For the grass is withered away, 
The tender grass faileth, 

There is no green thing. 

Therefore the abundance they have gotten, and that 
which they have laid up, shall they carry away over the 
brook of the willows. 

For the cry is gone round about the borders of Moab ; 

The howling thereof unto Eglaim, 
And the howling thereof unto Beer-elim ; 

For the waters of Dimon are full of blood. 

For I will bring yet more upon Dimon, a lion upon him 
that escapeth of Moab, and upon the remnant of the land. 

6 Send ye the lambs for the ruler of the land, 

i From Sela toward the wilderness unto the mount 
of the daughter of Zion.' 

For it shall be that, as wandering birds, as a scattered 
nest, so shall the daughters of Moab be at the fords of 
Arnon. 

58 



Dooms of the Nations S*- 



Book IV iv 



i Give counsel, execute judgement, 

6 Make thy shadow as the night in the midst of the 
noonday : 

6 Hide the outcasts, 

' Bewray not the wanderer ; 
i Let the outcasts of Moab dwell with thee, 

'Be thou a covert to him from the face of the 
spoiler.' 

For the extortioner is brought to nought, spoiling ceas- 
eth, the oppressors are consumed out of the land. And a 
throne shall be established in mercy, and one shall sit 
thereon in truth, in the tent of David ; judging, and seek- 
ing judgement ; and swift to do righteousness. 

2 

We have heard of the pride of Moab, 

That he is very proud ; 
Even of his arrogancy, and his pride, and his wrath : 

His boastings are nought. 

Therefore shall Moab howl for Moab, every one shall 
howl ; 

For the raisin-cakes of Kir-hareseth shall ye mourn, 
utterly stricken. 

59 



Book IV iv 



Isaiah 



For the fields of Heshbon languish, and the vine of 
Sibmah ; 

The lords of the nations have broken down the 
choice plants thereof ; 
They reached even unto Jazer, they wandered into the 
wilderness ; 

Her branches were spread abroad, they passed over 
the sea. 

Therefore I will weep with the weeping of Jazer for 

the vine of Sibmah ; 
I will water thee with my tears, O Heshbon, and 

Elealeh ! 

For upon thy summer fruits and upon thy harvest the 
battle shout is fallen, 
And gladness is taken away, and joy out of the 
fruitful field ; 

And in the vineyards there shall be no singing, neither 
joyful noise ; 
No treader shall tread out wine in the presses; I 
have made the vintage shout to cease. 

Wherefore my bowels sound like an harp for Moab, 
And ?nine inward parts for Kir -her es. 

And it shall come to pass, when Moab presenteth him- 
self, when he wearieth himself upon the high place, and 

60 



Dooms of the Nations 6^- 



Book IV v 



shall come to his sanctuary to pray, that he shall not 
prevail. 

This is the word that the Lord spake concerning Moab 
in time past. But now the Lord hath spoken, saying, 
Within three years, as the years of an hireling, and the 
glory of Moab shall be brought into contempt, with all his 
great multitude ; and the remnant shall be very small and 
of no account. 

V 

Doom of Syria and Israel 

Behold, Damascus is taken away from being a city, and 
it shall be a ruinous heap. The cities of Aroer are for- 
saken : they shall be for flocks, which shall lie down, and 
none shall make them afraid. The fortress also shall cease 
from Ephraim, and the kingdom from Damascus, and the 
remnant of Syria shall be — as the glory of the children of 
Israel, saith the Lord of hosts. 

And it shall come to pass in that day, that the glory of 
Jacob shall be made thin, and the fatness of his flesh shall 
wax lean. And it shall be as when the harvestman gath- 
ereth the standing corn, and his arm reapeth the ears ; yea, 
it shall be as when one gleaneth ears in the valley of 
Rephaim. 

61 



Book IV vi 



-*8 Isaiah 



Yet there shall be left therein gleanings, as the shaking 
of an olive tree, two or three berries in the top of the upper- 
most bough, four or five in the outmost branches of a fruit- 
ful tree, saith the Lord, the God of Israel. In that day 
shall a man look unto his Maker, and his eyes shall have 
respect to the Holy One of Israel. And he shall not look 
to the altars, the work of his hands, neither shall he have 
respect to that which his fingers have made, either the 
Asherim, or the sun-images. 

In that day shall his strong cities be as the forsaken 
places in the wood and on the mountain top, which were 
forsaken from before the children of Israel : and it shall be 
a desolation. For thou hast forgotten the God of thy sal- 
vation, and hast not been mindful of the rock of thy 
strength ; therefore thou plantest pleasant plants, and set- 
test it with strange slips : in the day of thy planting thou 
hedgest it in, and in the morning thou makest thy seed to 
blossom : but the harvest shall be an heap in the day of 
grief and of desperate sorrow. 

vi 

A Doom Song 

Ah, the uproar of many peoples, 

Which roar like the roaring of the seas j 

And the rushing of nations, 

That rush like the rushing of mighty waters! 
62 



Dooms of the Nations 



Book IV vii 



The nations shall rush like the rushing of many waters : 
But he shall rebuke them, and they shall flee far off ; 

And shall be chased as the chaff of the mountains 
before the wind, 
And like the whirling dust before the storm. 

At eventide behold terror ; 

And before the morning they are not. 
This is the portion of them that spoil us, 

And the lot of them that rob us. 

vii 

Doom of Ethiopia 

Ah, the land of the rustling of wings, 

Which is beyond the rivers of Ethiopia ; 

That sendeth ambassadors by the sea, 

Even in vessels of papyrus upon the waters : 

6 Go, ye swift messengers, to a nation tall and smooth, 
i To a people terrible from their beginning onward ; 

c A nation that meteth out, and treadeth down, 
6 Whose land the rivers divide.' 

All ye inhabitants of the world, and ye dwellers on the 
earth, when an ensign is lifted up on the mountains, see 
ye; and when the trumpet is blown, hear ye. For thus 

6 3 



Book IV viii 



-*S Isaiah 



hath the Lord said unto me, I will be still, and I will be- 
hold in my dwelling place ; like clear heat in sunshine, like 
a cloud of dew in the heat of harvest. For afore the har- 
vest, when the blossom is over, and the flower becometh a 
ripening grape, he shall cut off the sprigs with pruning- 
hooks, and the spreading branches shall he take away and 
cut down. They shall be left together unto the ravenous 
birds of the mountains, and to the beasts of the earth : and 
the ravenous birds shall summer upon them, and all the 
beasts of the earth shall winter upon them. In that time 
shall a present be brought unto the Lord of hosts — 

— of a people tall and smooth, 
And from a people terrible from their beginning 
onward ; 

A nation that meteth out, and treadeth down, 
Whose land the rivers divide — 

to the place of the name of the Lord of hosts, the Mount 
Zion. 

viii 

Doom of Egypt 

Behold, the Lord rideth upon a swift cloud, and cometh 
unto Egypt : and the idols of Egypt shall be moved at his 
presence, and the heart of Egypt shall melt in the midst of 

6 4 



Dooms of the Nations 8*~ Book IV viii 

it. And I will stir up the Egyptians against the Egyptians : 
and they shall fight every one against his brother, and 
every one against his neighbour; city against city, and 
kingdom against kingdom. And the spirit of Egypt shall 
be made void in the midst of it ; and I will destroy the 
counsel thereof : and they shall seek unto the idols, and to 
the charmers, and to them that have familiar spirits, and 
to the wizards. And I will give over the Egyptians into 
the hand of a cruel lord ; and a fierce king shall rule over 
them, saith the Lord, the Lord of hosts. And the waters 
shall fail from the sea, and the river shall be wasted and 
become dry. And the rivers shall stink ; the streams of 
Egypt shall be minished and dried up : the reeds and flags 
shall wither away. The meadows by the Nile, by the 
brink of the Nile, and all that is sown by the Nile, shall 
become dry, be driven away, and be no more. The fishers 
also shall lament, and all they that cast angle into the Nile 
shall mourn, and they that spread nets upon the waters 
shall languish. Moreover they that work in combed flax, 
and they that weave white cloth, shall be ashamed. And 
her pillars shall be broken in pieces, all they that work for 
hire shall be grieved in soul. The princes of Zoan are 
utterly foolish ; the counsel of the wisest counsellors of 
Pharaoh is become brutish : how say ye unto Pharaoh, I 
am the son of the wise, the son of ancient kings? Where 
then are thy wise men? and let them tell thee now; and 
let them know what the Lord of hosts hath purposed con- 

F 65 



Book IV viii 



-*8 Isaiah 



cerning Egypt. The princes of Zoan are become fools, 
the princes of Noph are deceived ; they have caused Egypt 
to go astray, that are the corner stone of her tribes. The 
Lord hath mingled a spirit of perverseness in the midst 
of her : and they have caused Egypt to go astray in every 
work thereof, as a drunken man staggereth in his vomit. 
Neither shall there be for Egypt any work, which head or 
tail, palm-branch or rush, may do. 

In that day shall Egypt be like unto women : and it 
shall tremble and fear because of the shaking of the hand 
of the Lord of hosts, which he shaketh over it. And the 
land of Judah shall become a terror unto Egypt, every one 
to whom mention is made thereof shall be afraid, because 
of the purpose of the Lord of hosts, which he purposeth 
against it. 

In that day there shall be five cities in the land of Egypt 
that speak the language of Canaan, and swear to the Lord 
of hosts ; one shall be called The city of destruction. 

In that day shall there be an altar to the Lord in the 
midst of the land of Egypt, and a pillar at the border 
thereof to the Lord. And it shall be for a sign and for a 
witness unto the Lord of hosts in the land of Egypt : for 

66 



Dooms of the Nations 



Book IV viii 



they shall cry unto the Lord because of the oppressors, 
and he shall send them a saviour, and a defender, and he 
shall deliver them. 

And the Lord shall be known to Egypt, and the Egyp- 
tians shall know the Lord in that day ; yea, they shall 
worship with sacrifice and oblation, and shall vow a vow 
unto the Lord, and shall perform it. 

And the Lord shall smite Egypt, smiting and healing ; 
and they shall return unto the Lord, and he shall be in- 
treated of them, and shall heal them. 

In that day shall there be a high way out of Egypt to 
Assyria, and the Assyrian shall come into Egypt, and the 
Egyptian into Assyria ; and the Egyptians shall worship 
with the Assyrians. 

In that day shall Israel be the third with Egypt and with 
Assyria, a blessing in the midst of the earth : for that the 
Lord of hosts hath blessed them, saying, Blessed be Egypt 
my people, and Assyria the work of my hands, and Israel 
mine inheritance. 

67 



Book IV ix 



^8 Isaiah 



is 

A Sign for Ashdod 

In the year that Tartan came unto Ashdod, when Sargon 
the king of Assyria sent him, and he fought against Ash- 
dod and took it ; at that time the Lord spake by Isaiah 
the son of Amoz, saying. Go, and loose the sackcloth from 
off thy loins, and put thy shoe from off thy foot. And he 
did so, walking naked and barefoot. And the Lord said, 
Like as my servant Isaiah hath walked naked and bare- 
foot three years for a sign and a wonder upon Egypt and 
upon Ethiopia ; so shall the king of Assyria lead away the 
captives of Egypt, and the exiles of Ethiopia, young and 
pld, naked and barefoot, and with buttocks uncovered, to 
the shame of Egypt. And they shall be dismayed and 
ashamed, because of Ethiopia their expectation, and of 
Egypt their glory. And the inhabitant of this coastland 
shall say in that day, Behold, such is our expectation, 
whither we fled for help to be delivered from the king of 
Assyria : and we, how shall we escape ? 

68 



Dooms of the Nations 8*- 



Book IV x 



X 

The Watchman of Israel 
i 

The Oracle of the Wilderness of the Sea 

As whirlwinds in the South sweep through, 

It cometh from the wilderness, 
From a terrible land ! 

A grievous vision is declared unto me ; the treacherous 
dealer dealeth treacherously, and the spoiler spoileth. 

" Go up, O Elam ; 

Besiege, O Media ; 
All the sighing thereof will I make to cease." 

Therefore are my loins filled with anguish ; pangs have 
taken hold upon me, as the pangs of a v/oman in travail : 
I am pained so that I cannot hear, I am dismayed so that 
I cannot see. My heart panteth, horror hath affrighted 
me : the twilight that I desired hath been turned into 
trembling unto me. 

69 



Book IV x 



-*S Isaiah 



" They prepare the table, 
They spread the carpets, 
They eat, they drink : 
Rise up, ye princes, anoint the shield." 

For thus hath the Lord said unto me, Go, set a watch- 
man ; let him declare what he seeth : and when he seeth 
a troop, horsemen in pairs, a troop of asses, a troop of 
camels, he shall hearken diligently with much heed. And 
he cried as a lion : 



The Watchman 

O Lord, I stand continually upon the watch-tower 
in the day-time, 

And am set in my ward whole nights : 
And, behold, here cometh a troop of men, 

Horsemen in pairs. 

The Lord 

Babylon is fallen, 
Is fallen ; 

And all the graven images of her gods are broken 
unto the ground. 

O thou my threshing, and the corn of my floor: that 
which I have heard from the Lord of hosts, the God of 
Israel, have I declared unto you. 

70 



Dooms of the Nations 6^ 



Book IV x 



2 

The Oracle of Silence 

Voice out of Seir 

Watchman, what of the night? 
Watchman, what of the night? 

The Watchman 

The morning cometh, 

And also the night : 
If ye will enquire, enquire ye ; 

Come ye again. 

3 

The Oracle at Evening 

In the thickets at evening shall ye lodge, 

O ye travelling companies of Dedanites. 

Unto him that is thirsty bring ye water ; 

Ye inhabitants of the land of Tema, 

Meet the fugitives with their bread. 

For they fled away from the swords, 

From the drawn sword, and from the bent bow, 

And from the grievousness of war. 

For thus hath the Lord said unto me, Within a year, 
according to the years of an hireling, and all the glory of 

7i 



Book IV x 



-*8 Isaiah 



Kedar shall fail : and the residue of the number of the 
archers, the mighty men of the children of Kedar, shall 
be few : for the Lord, the God of Israel, hath spoken it. 

4 

The Oracle of the Valley of Vision 

What aileth thee now, 

That thou art wholly gone up to the housetops, 
O thou that art full of shoutings, 

A tumultuous city, a joyous town ? 
Thy slain are not slain with the sword, 

Neither are they dead in battle. 
All thy rulers fled away together, 

They were bound without the bow : 
All that were found of thee were bound together, 

They fled afar off. 

Therefore said I, Look away from me, I will weep bit- 
terly ; labour not to comfort me, for the spoiling of the 
daughter of my people. For it is a day of discomfiture, 
and of treading down, and of perplexity, from the Lord, 
the Lord of hosts, in the valley of vision ; a breaking 
down of the walls, and a crying to the mountains. And 
Elam bare the quiver, with chariots of men and horse- 
men ; and Kir uncovered the shield. And it came to 

72 



Dooms of the Nations 8«- Book IV xi 



pass, that thy choicest valleys were full of chariots, and 
the horsemen set themselves in array at the gate. 

And he took away the covering of Judah ; and thou 
didst look in that day to the armour in the house of the 
forest. And ye saw the breaches of the city of David, 
that they were many : and ye gathered together the waters 
of the lower pool. And ye numbered the houses of Jeru- 
salem, and ye brake down the houses to fortify the wall. 
Ye made also a reservoir between the two walls for the 
water of the old pool : but ye looked not unto him that 
had done this, neither had ye respect unto him that fash- 
ioned it long ago. 

And in that day did the Lord, the Lord of hosts, call to 
weeping, and to mourning, and to baldness, and to girding 
with sackcloth : and behold, joy and gladness, slaying oxen 
and killing sheep, eating flesh and drinking wine : ' Let us 
eat and drink, for tomorrow we shall die ! ' And the Lord 
of hosts revealed himself in mine ears : Surely this iniquity 
shall not be purged from you till ye die, saith the Lord, the 
Lord of hosts. 

xi 

Shebna and Eliakim 

Thus saith the Lord, the Lord of hosts, Go, get thee 
unto this treasurer, even unto Shebna, which is over the 

73 



Book IV xi 



-*8 Isaiah 



house, and say, What doest thou here? and whom hast 
thou here, that thou hast hewed thee out here a sepulchre ? 
hewing him out a sepulchre on high, graving an habita- 
tion for himself in the rock ! Behold, the Lord will hurl 
thee away violently as a strong man; yea, he will wrap 
thee up closely. He will surely turn and toss thee like a 
ball into a large country ; there shalt thou die, and there 
shall be the chariots of thy glory, thou shame of thy lord's 
house. And I will thrust thee from thine office, and from 
thy station shall he pull thee down. 

And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will call 
my servant Eliakim the son of Hilkiah : and I will clothe 
him with thy robe, and strengthen him with thy girdle, 
and I will commit thy government into his hand : and he 
shall be a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and to 
the house of Judah. And the key of the house of David 
will I lay upon his shoulder ; and he shall open, and none 
shall shut ; and he shall shut, and none shall open. And 
I will fasten him as a nail in a sure place ; and he shall be 
for a throne of glory to his father's house. 

And they shall hang upon him all the glory of his 
father's house, the offspring and the issue, every small ves- 
sel, from the vessels of cups even to all the vessels of 
flagons. In that day, saith the Lord of hosts, shall the 

74 



Dooms of the Nations 8«- Book IV xii 

nail that was fastened in a sure place give way; and it 
shall be hewn down, and fall, and the burden that was 
upon it shall be cut off ; for the Lord hath spoken it. 

xii 

Doom of Tyre 
i 

Howl, ye ships of Tarshish : 
For it is laid waste, 
So that there is no house, 
No entering in : 

From the land of Kittim it is revealed to them! 

Be still, ye inhabitants of the coastland : 

Thou whom the merchants of Zidon, that pass over 

the sea, have replenished : 
And on great waters the seed of Shihor, 
The harvest of the Nile, was her revenue : 
And she was the mart of nations ! 

Be thou ashamed, O Zidon : 

For the sea hath spoken, the strong hold of the sea : 
4 I have not travailed, nor brought forth, 
6 Neither have I nourished young men, nor brought 
up virgins ' : 

75 



Book IV xii 



-*8 Isaiah 



When the report cometh to Egypt, they shall be 
sorely pained at the report of Tyre ! 

2 

Pass ye over to Tarshish : 

Howl, ye inhabitants of the coastland! 

Is this your joyous city, 

Whose antiquity is of ancient days, 

Whose feet carried her afar off to sojourn? 

* Who hath purposed this against Tyre, the crown- 

ing city, 
6 Whose merchants are princes, 

* Whose traffickers are the honourable of the earth? 1 

The Lord of hosts hath purposed it, 
To stain the pride of all glory, 
To bring into contempt all the honourable of the 
earth. 

3 

Pass through thy land as the Nile, O daughter of Tar- 
shish : 

There is no girdle about thee any more. 

He hath stretched out his hand over the sea ; 
He hath shaken the kingdoms : 
76 



Dooms of the Nations 8*- 



Book IV xii 



The Lord hath given commandment concerning 
Canaan, 

To destroy the strongholds thereof. 

" Thou shalt no more rejoice, 

" O thou oppressed virgin daughter of Zidon : 

" Arise, pass over to Kittim ; 

" Even there shalt thou have no rest." 

Behold, the land of the Chaldeans, this people is no 
more ; 

The Assyrian hath appointed it for the beasts of 

the wilderness ; 
They set up their towers, they overthrew the palaces 

thereof ; 
He made it a ruin. 

Howl, ye ships of Tarshish : 

For your stronghold is laid waste! 

4 

And it shall come to pass in that day, that Tyre shall 
be forgotten seventy years, according to the days of one 
king : after the end of seventy years it shall be unto Tyre 
as in the song of the harlot — ■ 

Take an harp, 
Go about the city, 
Thou harlot that hast been forgotten ; 

T7 



Book IV xii 



-*S Isaiah 



Make sweet melody, 
Sing many songs, 
That thou mayest be remembered. 

And it shall come to pass after the end of seventy years, 
that the Lord will visit Tyre, and she shall return to her 
hire, and shall play the harlot with all the kingdoms of the 
world upon the face of the earth. And her merchandise 
and her hire shall be holiness to the Lord : it shall not 
be treasured nor laid up ; for her merchandise shall be for 
them that dwell before the Lord, to eat sufficiently, and 
for durable clothing. 

78 



Dooms of the Nations 8^ 



Book IV xiii 



xiii 

A Rhapsody of Judgment 
i 

Voice of Prophecy 

Behold, the Lord maketh the earth empty, and maketh 
it waste, and turneth it upside down, and scattereth abroad 
the inhabitants thereof. And it shall be, as with the people, 
so with the priest ; as with the servant, so with his master ; 
as with the maid, so with her mistress ; as with the buyer, 
so with the seller ; as with the lender, so with the borrower ; 
as with the taker of usury, so with the giver of usury to him. 
The earth shall be utterly emptied, and utterly spoiled : 
for the Lord hath spoken this word. 

Vision 

The earth mourneth and fadeth away ; the world lan- 
guished and fadeth away ; the lofty people of the earth do 
languish. 

Voice of Prophecy 

The earth also is polluted under the inhabitants thereof ; 
because they have transgressed the laws, changed the 
ordinance, broken the everlasting covenant. Therefore 

79 



Book IV xiii 



-*S Isaiah 



hath the curse devoured the earth, and they that dwell 
therein are found guilty : therefore the inhabitants of the 
earth are burned, and few men left. 

Vision continued 

The new wine motirneth^ the vine languished all the 
merryhearted do sigh ; the mirth of tabrets ceaseth, t? ie 
noise of them that rejoice endeth, the joy of the harp 
ceaseth. 

Voice of Prophecy 

They shall not drink wine with a song; strong drink 
shall be bitter to them that drink it. 

Vision continued 

The city of confusion is broken down; every house is 
shut up, that no man ?nay coine in. There is a cryi?tg in 
the streets because of the wine ; all joy is darkened, the 
mirth of the land is gone. In the city is left desolation, 
and the gate is smitten with destruction. 

Voice of Prophecy 

For thus shall it be in the midst of the earth among the 
peoples, as the shaking of an olive tree, as the grape glean- 

80 



Dooms of the Nations S*- Book IV xiii 

ings when the vintage is done. These shall lift up their 
voice, they shall shout. 

Voices from the West 
For the Majesty of the Lord! 

Voices from the East 
Wherefore glorify ye the Lord in the east ! 

Voices from the West 

Even the name of the Lord, the God of Israel, in the 
isles of the sea ! 

Voices of the Doomed 

From the uttermost part of the earth have we heard 
songs, glory to the righteous. But I said, I pine away, I 
pine away, woe is me ! the treacherous dealers have dealt 
treacherously ; yea, the treacherous dealers have dealt very 
treacherously. 

Voice of Prophecy 

Fear, and the pit, and the snare are upon thee, O inhabi- 
tant of the earth. And it shall come to pass, that he who 
g 81 



Book IV xiii 



-*8 Isaiah 



fleeth from the noise of the fear shall fall into the pit ; and 
he that cometh up out of the midst of the pit shall be taken 
in the snare. 



2 

Vision 

For the windows o?i high are opened, and the founda- 
tions of the earth do shake. The earth is utterly broken, 
the earth is clean dissolved, the earth is moved exceedingly. 

Voice of Prophecy 

The earth shall stagger like a drunken man, and shall be 
moved to and fro like a hut ; and the transgression thereof 
shall be heavy upon it, and it shall fall, and not rise again. 
And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall 
punish the host of the high ones on high, and the kings 
of the earth upon the earth. And they shall be gathered 
together, as prisoners are gathered in the pit, and shall be 
shut up in the prison, and after many days shall they be 
visited. Then the moon shall be confounded, and the sun 
ashamed. 

For the Lord of hosts shall reign in Mount Zion, and in 
Jerusalem, and before his elders shall be glory. 

82 



Dooms of the Nations 8^- 



Book IV 



Song of the Elders 

0 Lord, thou art my God ; I will exalt thee ; 

1 will praise thy name ; 

For thou hast done wonderful things, 

Even counsels of old, in faithfulness and truth. 

For thou hast made of a city an heap ; 
Of a defenced city a ruin : 
A palace of strangers to be no city ; 
It shall never be built. 

Therefore shall the strong people glorify thee, 
The city of the terrible nations shall fear thee. 

For thou hast been a strong hold to the poor, 

A strong hold to the needy in his distress, 

A refuge from the storm, 

A shadow from the heat, 

When the blast of the terrible ones 

Is as a storm against the wall. 

As the heat in a dry place 
Shalt thou bring down the noise of strangers ; 
As the heat by the shadow of a cloud, 
The song of the terrible ones shall be brought low, 
83 



Book IV xiii 



-*8 Isaiah 



Voice of Prophecy 

And in this mountain shall the Lord of hosts make unto 
all peoples a feast of fat things, a feast of wines on the lees, 
of fat things full of marrow, of wines on the lees well re- 
fined. And he will destroy in this mountain the face of the 
covering that is cast over all peoples, and the veil that is 
spread over all nations. 

Voices of the Saved 

He hath swallowed up death for ever; and the Lord 
God will wipe away tears from off all faces ; and the 
reproach of his people shall he take away from off all the 
earth : for the Lord hath spoken it. 

Song in that Day 

Lo, this is our God ; 

We have waited for him, 
And he will save us : 

This is the Lord ; 

We have waited for him, 

We will be glad and rejoice in his salvation. 

Voice of Prophecy 

For in this mountain shall the hand of the Lord rest, 
and Moab shall be trodden down in his place, even as straw 

8 4 



Dooms of the Nations B*- 



Book IV xiii 



is trodden down in the water of the dunghill. And he 
shall spread forth his hands in the midst thereof, as he that 
swimmeth spreadeth forth his hands to swim : and he shall 
lay low his pride together with the craft of his hands. 
And the fortress of the high fort of thy walls hath he 
brought down, laid low, and brought to the ground, even 
to the dust. 

Song in the Land of Judah 
We have a strong city ; 

Salvation will he appoint for walls and bulwarks. 
Open ye the gates, 

That the righteous nation which keepeth truth may 
enter in. 

Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, 
Whose mind is stayed on thee, because he trusteth in 
thee. 

Trust ye in the Lord for ever : 

For in the Lord Jehovah is a Rock of Ages. 

For he hath brought down them that dwell on high, 

the lofty city: 
He layeth it low, he layeth it low, even to the 

ground ; 
He bringeth it even to the dust. 
The foot shall tread it down ; 

85 



Book IV xiii 



-*8 Isaiah 



Even the feet of the poor, 
And the steps of the needy. 

The way of the just is uprightness : 
Thou that art upright dost direct the path of the 
just. 

Yea, in the way of thy judgements, O Lord, 

Have we waited for thee ; 

To thy name and to thy memorial 

Is the desire of our soul. 



With my soul have I desired thee in the night ; 

Yea, with my spirit within me will I seek thee early : 

For when thy judgements are in the earth, 

The inhabitants of the world learn righteousness. 

Let favour be shewed to the wicked, 

Yet will he not learn righteousness ; 

In the land of uprightness will he deal wrongfully, 

And will not behold the majesty of the Lord. 



3 

Prophetic Spectator 

Lord, thy hand is lifted up, yet they see not ; but they 
shall see thy zeal for the people, and be ashamed ; yea, fire 
shall devour thine adversaries. 

86 



Dooms of the Nations 



Book IV xiii 



Voices of the Saved 

Lord, thou wilt ordain peace for us : for thou hast also 
wrought all our works for us. O Lord our God, other 
lords beside thee have had dominion over us ; but by thee 
only will we make mention of thy name. 

Prophetic Spectator 

The dead live not, the deceased rise not : therefore hast 
thou visited and destroyed them, and made all their memory 
to perish. 

Voices of the Saved 

Thou hast increased the nation, O Lord, thou hast in- 
creased the nation ; thou art glorified : thou hast enlarged 
all the borders of the land. 

Prophetic Spectator 

Lord, in trouble have they visited thee, they poured out 
a prayer when thy chastening was upon them. 

Voices of the Doomed 

Like as a woman with child, that draweth near the time 
of her delivery, is in pain and crieth out in her pangs ; so 
have we been before thee, O Lord. We have been with 
child, we have been in pain, we have as it were brought 

87 



Book IV xiii 



-*8 Isaiah 



forth wind ; we have not wrought any deliverance in the 
earth; neither have inhabitants of the world been born. 

God (to the Saved) 

Thy dead shall live : my dead bodies shall arise. Awake 
and sing, ye that dwell in the dust : for thy dew is as the 
dew of herbs, and the earth shall cast forth the dead. 
Come, my people, enter thou into thy chambers, and shut 
thy doors about thee : hide thyself for a little moment, 
until the indignation be overpast. For, behold, the Lord 
cometh forth out of his place to punish the inhabitants of 
the earth for their iniquity : the earth also shall disclose 
her blood, and shall no more cover her slain. 

Voice of Prophecy 

In that day the Lord with his sore and great and strong 
sword shall punish leviathan the swift serpent, and levi- 
athan the crooked serpent ; and he shall slay the dragon 
that is in the sea. 

Song in that Day 

A Vineyard of wine, (sing ye of it,) 

I the Lord do keep it ; I will water it every mo- 
ment : 

Lest any hurt it, I will keep it night and day. 

88 



Dooms of the Nations 8^*- 



Book IV xiii 



Fury is not in me : 

Would that the briers and thorns were against me 
in battle, 

I would march upon them, I would burn them to- 
gether. 

Or else let him take hold of my strength, 
That he may make peace with me : 
Yea, let him make peace with me. 

In days to come shall Jacob take root ; 
Israel shall blossom and bud : 
And they shall fill the face of the world with fruit. 

Prophetic Spectator 
Hath he smitten him as he smote those that smote him ? 
or is he slain according to the slaughter of them that were 
slain by him? In measure, when thou sendest her away, 
thou dost contend with her; he hath removed her with his 
rough blast in the day of the east wind. Therefore by this 
shall the iniquity of Jacob be purged, and this is all the 
fruit to take away his sin ; when he maketh all the stones 
of the altar as chalks tones that are beaten in sunder, so 
that the Asherim and the sun-images shall rise no more. 

Vision 

For the defenced city is solitary 1 an habitation deserted 
and forsaken, like the wilderness : there shall the calf feed. 



Book IV xiii 



-*8 Isaiah 



and there shall he lie down, and consume the branches 
thereof. 

Voice of Prophecy 

When the boughs thereof are withered, they shall be 
broken off; the women shall come and set them on fire: 
for it is a people of no understanding; therefore he that 
made them will not have compassion upon them, and he 
that formed them will show them no favour. 

And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord 
shall beat out his corn, from the flood of the River unto 
the brook of Egypt, and ye shall be gathered, one by one, 
O ye children of Israel. 

And it shall come to pass in that day, that a great 
trumpet shall be blown ; and they shall come which were 
ready to perish in the land of Assyria, and they that were 
outcasts in the land of Egypt ; and they shall worship the 
Lord in the Holy Mountain at Jerusalem. 

90 



Book V 



PROPHECIES OF JUDGMENT AND RESTORA- 
TION 



0 

1 

The Covenant with Death 

Woe to the crown of pride of the drunkards of Ephraim, 
and to the fading flower of his glorious beauty, which is 
on the head of the fat valley of them that are overcome 
with wine! Behold, the Lord hath a mighty and strong 
one ; as a tempest of hail, a destroying storm, as a tempest 
of mighty waters overflowing, shall he cast down to the 
earth with the hand. The crown of pride of the drunkards 
of Ephraim shall be trodden under foot : and the fading 
flower of his glorious beauty, which is on the head of the 
fat valley, shall be as the firstripe fig before the summer ; 
which when he that looketh upon it seeth, while it is yet 
in his hand he eateth it up. 

In that day shall the Lord of hosts be for a crown of 
glory, and for a diadem of beauty, unto the residue of his 
people : and for a spirit of judgement to him that sitteth in 
judgement, and for strength to them that turn back the 
battle at the gate. 

But these also have erred through wine, and through 
strong drink are gone astray ; the priest and the prophet 

93 



Book V i 



-*8 Isaiah 



have erred through strong drink, they are swallowed up of 
wine, they are gone astray through strong drink ; they err 
in vision, they stumble in judgement. For all tables are 
full of vomit and nlthiness, so that there is no place clean. — 
' Whom will he teach knowledge ? and whom will he make 
'to understand the message? them that are weaned from 
i the milk, and drawn from the breasts ? For it is precept 
' upon precept, precept upon precept ; line upon line, line 
'upon line ; here a little, there a little. 1 — Nay, but by men 
of strange lips and with another tongue will he speak to 
this people : to whom he said, This is the rest, give ye rest 
to him that is weary ; and this is the refreshing : yet they 
would not hear. Therefore shall the word of the Lord be 
unto them precept upon precept, precept upon precept ; 
line upon line, line upon line ; here a little, there a little ; 
that they may go, and fall backward, and be broken, and 
snared, and taken. Wherefore hear the word of the Lord, 
ye scornful men, that rule this people which is in Jerusalem : 
Because ye have said, We have made a covenant with 
death, and with hell are we at agreement ; when the over- 
flowing scourge shall pass through, it shall not come unto 
us ; for we have made lies our refuge, and under falsehood 
have we hid ourselves : therefore thus saith the Lord God, 
Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, 
a precious corner stone of sure foundation : he that be- 
lieveth shall not make haste. And I will make judgement 
the line, and righteousness the plummet : and^ the hail shall 



Judgment and Restoration £<- 



Book V i 



sweep away the refuge of lies, and the waters shall overflow 
the hiding place. And your covenant with death shall be 
disannulled, and your agreement with hell shall not stand ; 
when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, then ye 
shall be trodden down by it. As often as it passeth through, 
it shall take you ; for morning by morning shall it pass 
through, by day and by night : and it shall be nought but 
terror to understand the message. For the bed is shorter 
than that a man can stretch himself on it ; and the cover- 
ing narrower than that he can wrap himself in it. For the 
Lord shall rise up as in mount Perazim, he shall be wroth 
as in the valley of Gibeon ; that he may do his work, his 
strange work, and bring to pass his act, his strange act. 
Now therefore be ye not scorners, lest your bands be made 
strong : for a consummation, and that determined, have I 
heard from the Lord, the Lord of hosts, upon the whole 
earth. 

Give ye ear, and hear my voice ; hearken, and hear 
my speech. Doth the plowman plow continually to sow? 
doth he continually open and break the clods of his ground ? 
When he hath made plain the face thereof, doth he not 
cast abroad the fitches, and scatter the cummin, and put in 
the wheat in rows and the barley in the appointed place 
and the spelt in the border thereof? For his God doth 
instruct him aright, and doth teach him. For the fitches 
are not threshed with a sharp threshing instrument, neither 
is a cart wheel turned about upon the cummin ; but the 

95 



Book V ii 



-*8 Isaiah 



fitches are beaten out with a staff, and the cummin with a 
rod. Is bread corn crushed? Nay, he will not ever be 
threshing it, and driving his cart wheels and his horses 
over it ; he doth not crush it. This also cometh forth from 
the Lord of hosts, which is wonderful in counsel, and 
excellent in wisdom. 

ii 

The Nightmare of Judgment upon Ariel 

Ho Ariel, Ariel, the city where David encamped! add ye 
year to year ; let the feasts come round : then will I distress 
Ariel, and there shall be mourning and lamentation : yet 
she shall be unto me as Ariel. And I will camp against 
thee round about, and will lay siege against thee with a 
fort, and I will raise siege works against thee. And thou 
shalt be brought down, and shalt speak out of the ground, 
and thy speech shall be low out of the dust ; and thy voice 
shall be as of one that hath a familiar spirit, out of the 
ground, and thy speech shall whisper out of the dust. But 
the multitude of thy foes shall be like small dust, and the 
multitude of the terrible ones as chaff that passeth away : 
yea, it shall be at an instant suddenly. There shall be a 
visitation from the Lord of hosts with thunder, and with 
earthquake, and great noise, with whirlwind and tempest, 
and the flame of a devouring fire. And the multitude of 
all the nations that fight against Ariel, even all that fight 

96 



Judgment and Restoration B^- 



Book V ii 



against her and her strong hold, and that distress her, shall 
be as a dream, a vision of the night. And it shall be as 
when an hungry man dreameth, and, behold, he eateth ; 
but he awake th, and his soul is empty : or as when a thirsty 
man dreameth, and, behold, he drinketh ; but he awaketh, 
and, behold, he is faint, and his soul hath appetite : so 
shall the multitude of all the nations be, that fight against 
mount Zion. 

Tarry ye and wonder ; blind yourselves and be blind : 
they are drunken, but not with wine ; they stagger, but not 
with strong drink. For the Lord hath poured out upon 
you the spirit of deep sleep, and hath closed your eyes, the 
prophets ; and your heads, the seers, hath he covered. 
And all vision is become unto you as the words of a book 
that is sealed, which men deliver to one that is learned, 
saying, Read this, I pray thee : and he saith, I cannot, for 
it is sealed : and the book is delivered to him that is not 
learned, saying, Read this, I pray thee : and he saith, I am 
not learned. And the Lord said, Forasmuch as this people 
draw nigh unto me, and with their mouth and with their 
lips do honour me, but have removed their heart far from 
me, and their fear of me is a commandment of men which 
hath been taught them : therefore, behold, I will proceed 
to do a marvellous work among this people, even a marvel- 
lous work and a wonder : and the wisdom of their wise 
men shall perish, and the understanding of their prudent 
men shall be hid. Woe unto them that seek deep to hide 
h 97 



Book V ii 



-*8 Isaiah 



their counsel from the Lord, and their works are in the 
dark, and they say, Who seeth us ? and who knoweth us ? 
Ye turn things upside down! Shall the potter be counted 
as clay ; that the thing made should say of him that made 
it, He made me not ; or the thing framed say of him that 
framed it, He hath no understanding? 

Is it not yet a very little while, and Lebanon shall be 
turned into a fruitful field, and the fruitful field shall be 
counted for a forest? And in that day shall the deaf hear 
the words of the book, and the eyes of the blind shall see 
out of obscurity and out of darkness. The meek also shall 
increase their joy in the Lord, and the poor among men 
shall rejoice in the Holy One of Israel. For the terrible 
one is brought to nought, and the scorner ceaseth, and all 
they that watch for iniquity are cut off: that make a man 
an offender in a cause, and lay a snare for him that re- 
proveth in the gate, and turn aside the just with a thing of 
nought. Therefore thus saith the Lord, who redeemed 
Abraham, concerning the house of Jacob : Jacob shall not 
now be ashamed, neither shall his face now wax pale. But 
when his children see the work of mine hands in the midst 
of him, they shall sanctify my name ; yea, they shall sanctify 
the Holy One of Jacob, and shall stand in awe of the God 
of Israel. They also that err in spirit shall come to under- 
standing, and they that murmur shall learn doctrine. 

98 



Judgment and Restoration 8*- 



Book V iii 



iii 

The Boaster that Sitteth Still 

Woe to the rebellious children, saith the Lord, that 
take counsel, but not of me ; and that weave a web, but 
not of my spirit, that they may add sin to sin : that 
walk to go down into Egypt, and have not asked at my 
mouth ; to strengthen themselves in the strength of Pha- 
raoh, and to trust in the shadow of Egypt ! Therefore 
shall the strength of Pharaoh be your shame, and the trust 
in the shadow of Egypt your confusion. For his princes 
are at Zoan, and his ambassadors are come to Hanes. 
They shall all be ashamed of a people that cannot profit 
them, that are not an help nor profit, but a shame, and 
also a reproach. 

An Oracle of the Beasts of the South 

Through the land of trouble and anguish, 
From whence come the lioness and the lion, 
The viper and fiery flying serpent. 

They carry their riches upon the shoulders of young 
asses, 

And their treasures upon the bunches of camels y 
To a people that shall not profit them. 
99 



, Lof G. 



Book V iii 



Isaiah 



For Egypt helpeth in vain, aiid to no purpose : 
Therefore have I called her c Rahab that sitteth still? 

Now go, write it before them on a tablet, and inscribe 
it in a book, that it may be for the time to come for ever 
and ever. For it is a rebellious people, lying children, 
children that will not hear the law of the Lord : which 
say to the seers, See not ; and to the prophets, Prophesy 
not unto us right things, speak unto us smooth things, 
prophesy deceits : get you out of the way, turn aside out 
of the path, cause the Holy One of Israel to cease from 
before us. Wherefore thus saith the Holy One of Israel: 
Because ye despise this word, and trust in oppression and 
perverseness, and stay thereon; therefore this iniquity 
shall be to you as a breach ready to fall, swelling out in a 
high wall, whose breaking cometh suddenly at an instant. 
And he shall break it as a potter's vessel is broken, break- 
ing it in pieces without sparing ; so that there shall not be 
found among the pieces thereof a sherd to take fire from 
the hearth, or to take water withal out of the cistern. For 
thus said the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel : In re- 
turning and rest shall ye be saved ; in quietness and in 
confidence shall be your strength : and ye would not. But 
ye said, No, for we will flee upon horses ; therefore shall 
ye flee : and, We will ride upon the swift ; therefore shall 
they that pursue you be swift. One thousand shall flee at 
the rebuke of one ; at the rebuke of five shall ye flee : till 

IOO 



Judgment and Restoration 8«- 



Book V iii 



ye be left as a beacon upon the top of a mountain, and as 
an ensign on an hill. 

And therefore will the Lord wait, that he may be gra- 
cious unto you, and therefore will he be exalted, that he 
may have mercy upon you : for the Lord is a God of 
judgement ; blessed are all they that wait for him. For, O 
people that dwellest in Zion at Jerusalem, thou shalt weep 
no more ; he will surely be gracious unto thee at the voice 
of thy cry ; when he shall hear, he will answer thee. And 
though the Lord give you the bread of adversity and the 
water of affliction, yet shall not thy teachers be hidden any 
more, but thine eyes shall see thy teachers : and thine ears 
shall hear a word behind thee, saying, This is the way, 
walk ye in it ; when ye turn to the right hand, and when 
ye turn to the left. And ye shall defile the overlaying of 
thy graven images of silver, and the plating of thy molten 
images of gold : thou shalt cast them away as an unclean 
thing; thou shalt say unto it, Get thee hence. And he 
shall give the rain of thy seed, that thou shalt sow the 
ground withal ; and bread of the increase of the ground, 
and it shall be fat and plenteous. In that day shall thy 
cattle feed in large pastures ; the oxen likewise and the 
young asses that till the ground shall eat savoury prov- 
ender, which hath been winnowed with the shovel and 
with the fan. And there shall be upon every lofty moun- 
tain, and upon every high hill, rivers and streams of waters, 
in the day of the great slaughter, when the towers fall. 

IOI 



Book V iii 



-*S Isaiah 



Moreover the light of the moon shall be as the light of the 
sun, and the light of the sun shall be sevenfold, as the 
light of seven days, in the day that the Lord bindeth up 
the hurt of his people, and healeth the stroke of their 
wound. 

Behold, the name of the Lord cometh from far, burning 
with his anger, and in thick rising smoke : his lips are full 
of indignation, and his tongue is as a devouring fire : and 
his breath is as an overflowing stream, that reacheth even 
unto the neck, to sift the nations with the sieve of vanity : 
and a bridle that causeth to err shall be in the jaws of the 
peoples. Ye shall have a song as in the night when a 
holy feast is kept ; and gladness of heart, as when one 
goeth with a pipe to come into the mountain of the Lord, 
to the Rock of Israel. And the Lord shall cause his glo- 
rious voice to be heard, and shall shew the lighting down 
of his arm, with the indignation of his anger, and the flame 
of a devouring fire, with a blast, and tempest, and hail- 
stones. For through the voice of the Lord shall the 
Assyrian be broken in pieces, which smote with a rod. 
And every stroke of the appointed staff, which the Lord 
shall lay upon him, shall be with tabrets and harps : and 
in battles of shaking will he fight with them. For a To- 
pheth is prepared of old ; yea, for the king it is made 
ready ; he hath made it deep and large : the pile thereof 
is fire and much wood ; the breath of the Lord, like a 
stream of brimstone, doth kindle it. 

102 



Judgment and Restoration 8«- 



Book V iv 



iv 

The Horses of Egypt and the Holy One of Israel 

Woe to them that go down to Egypt for help, and stay 
on horses ; and trust in chariots, because they are many, 
and in horsemen, because they are very strong ; but they 
look not unto the Holy One of Israel, neither seek the 
Lord ! Yet he also is wise, and will bring evil, and will 
not call back his words : but will arise against the house 
of the evil-doers, and against the help of them that work 
iniquity. Now the Egyptians are men, and not God ; and 
their horses flesh, and not spirit : and when the Lord 
shall stretch out his hand, both he that helpeth shall stum- 
ble, and he that is holpen shall fall, and they all shall fail 
together. For thus saith the Lord unto me : Like as when 
the lion growleth and the young lion over his prey, if a 
multitude of shepherds be called forth against him, he will 
not be dismayed at their voice, nor abase himself for the 
noise of them : so shall the Lord of hosts come down to 
fight upon mount Zion, and upon the hill thereof. As 
birds flying, so will the Lord of hosts protect Jerusalem ; 
he will protect and deliver it, he will pass over and pre- 
serve it. Turn ye unto him from whom ye have deeply 
revolted, O children of Israel. For in that day they shall 
cast away every man his idols of silver, and his idols of 
gold, which your own hands have made unto you for a sin. 

103 



Book V iv 



-38 Isaiah 



Then shall the Assyrian fall with the sword, not of man ; 
and the sword, not of men, shall devour him : and he shall 
flee from the sword, and his young men shall become trib- 
utary. And his rock shall pass away by reason of terror, 
and his princes shall be dismayed at the ensign, saith the 
Lord, whose fire is in Zion, and his furnace in Jerusalem. 

Behold, a king shall reign in righteousness, and princes 
shall rule in judgement. And a man shall be as an hiding 
place from the wind, and a covert from the tempest ; as 
rivers of water in a dry place, as the shadow of a great 
rock in a weary land. And the eyes of them that see 
shall not be dim, and the ears of them that hear shall 
hearken. The heart also of the rash shall understand 
knowledge, and the tongue of the stammerers shall be 
ready to speak plainly. The vile person shall be no more 
called liberal, nor the churl said to be bountiful. For the 
vile person will speak villany, and his heart will work 
iniquity, to practise profaneness, and to utter error against 
the Lord, to make empty the soul of the hungry, and to 
cause the drink of the thirsty to fail. The instruments 
also of the churl are evil : he deviseth wicked devices to 
destroy the meek with lying words, even when the needy 
speaketh right. But the liberal deviseth liberal things ; 
and by liberal things shall he stand. 

104 



Judgment and Restoration S*- 



Book V v 



V 

The Women that are at ease 

Rise up, ye women that are at ease, and hear my voice ; 
ye careless daughters, give ear unto my speech. For days 
beyond a year shall ye be troubled, ye careless women : 
for the vintage shall fail, the ingathering shall not come. 
Tremble, ye women that are at ease ; be troubled, ye care- 
less ones : strip you, and make you bare, and gird sack- 
cloth upon your loins. They shall smite upon the breasts 
for the pleasant fields, for the fruitful vine. Upon the land 
of my people shall come up thorns and briers ; yea, upon 
all the houses of joy in the joyous city : for the palace shall 
be forsaken ; the populous city shall be deserted ; the hill 
and the watch-tower shall be for dens for ever, a joy of 
wild asses, a pasture of flocks : until the spirit be poured 
upon us from on high, and the wilderness become a fruit- 
ful field, and the fruitful field be counted for a forest. 
Then judgement shall dwell in the wilderness, and right- 
eousness shall abide in the fruitful field. And the work of 
righteousness shall be peace ; and the effect of righteous- 
ness quietness and confidence for ever. And my people 
shall abide in a peaceable habitation, and in sure dwellings, 
and in quiet resting places. But it shall hail, in the down- 
fall of the forest ; and the city shall be utterly laid low. 
Blessed are ye that sow beside all waters, that send forth 
the feet of the ox and the ass. 



Book V vi 



-sS Isaiah 



vi 

A Rhapsody of Salvation 
The Prophet {beholding in vision) 

Woe to thee that spoilest, and thou wast not spoiled ; 
and dealest treacherously, and they dealt not treacherously 
with thee ! When thou hast ceased to spoil, thou shalt be 
spoiled ; and when thou hast made an end to deal treach- 
erously, they shall deal treacherously with thee. 

Israel 

O Lord, be gracious unto us ; we have waited for thee : 
be thou their arm every morning, our salvation also in the 
time of trouble. 

The Prophet 

At the noise of the tumult the peoples are fled ; at the 
lifting up of thyself the nations are scattered. And your 
spoil shall be gathered as the caterpillar gathereth : as 
locusts leap shall they leap upon it. The Lord is exalted ; 
for he dwelleth on high : he hath filled Zion with judge- 
ment and righteousness. And there shall be stability in 
thy times, abundance of salvation, wisdom and knowledge : 
the fear of the Lord is his treasure. 

Behold, their valiant ones cry without: the ambas- 
sadors of peace weep bitterly. 

106 



Judgment and Restoration 8*r 



Book V vi 



Israel's Ambassadors 

The highways lie waste, the wayfaring man ceaseth : he 
hath broken the covenant, he hath despised the cities, he 
regardeth not man. The land mourneth and languisheth : 
Lebanon is ashamed and withereth away : Sharon is like 
a desert; and Bashan and Carmel shake off their leaves. 

God 

Now will I arise, now will I lift up myself ; now will I 
be exalted. Ye shall conceive chaff, ye shall bring forth 
stubble : your breath is a fire that shall devour you. And 
the peoples shall be as the burnings of lime : as thorns 
cut down, that are burned in the fire. Hear, ye that are 
far off, what I have done ; and, ye that are near, acknow- 
ledge my might. 

The sinners in Zion are afraid', trembling hath 
surprised the godless ones. 

Sinners in Zion 

Who among us shall dwell with the devouring fire? who 
among us shall dwell with everlasting burnings ? 

The Godly in Zion 

He that walketh righteously, and speaketh uprightly; 
he that despiseth the gain of oppressions, that shaketh his 

107 



Book V vi 



-*8 Isaiah 



hands from holding of bribes, that stoppeth his ears from 
hearing of blood, and shutteth his eyes from looking upon 
evil ; he shall dwell on high : his place of defence shall be 
the munitions of rocks : his bread shall be given him ; his 
waters shall be sure. Thine eyes shall see the king in his 
beauty : they shall behold a far stretching land. Thine 
heart shall muse on the terror : where is he that counted, 
where is he that weighed the tribute? where is he that 
counted the towers? Thou shalt not see the fierce people, 
a people of a deep speech that thou canst not perceive ; of 
a strange tongue that thou canst not understand. Look 
upon Zion, the city of our solemnities : thine eyes shall 
see Jerusalem a quiet habitation, a tent that shall not be 
removed, the stakes whereof shall never be plucked up, 
neither shall any of the cords thereof be broken. But 
there the Lord will be with us in majesty, a place of broad 
rivers and streams ; wherein shall go no galley with oars, 
neither shall gallant ship pass thereby. For the Lord is 
our judge, the Lord is our lawgiver, the Lord is our king ; 
he will save us. (To the foe.) Thy tacklings are loosed ; 
they could not strengthen the foot of their mast, they 
could not spread the sail : then was the prey of a great 
spoil divided ; the lame took the prey. And the inhabi- 
tant shall not say, I am sick : the people that dwell therein 
shall be forgiven their iniquity. 

108 



Judgment and Restoration 8*- 



Book V vii 



vii 

The Utter Destruction and the Great Restoration 

i 

Come near, ye nations, to hear ; and hearken, ye peoples : 
let the earth hear, and the fulness thereof ; the world, and 
all things that come forth of it. For the Lord hath in- 
dignation against all the nations, and fury against all their 
host: he hath utterly destroyed them, he hath delivered 
them to the slaughter. Their slain also shall be cast out, 
and the stink of their carcases shall come up, and the 
mountains shall be melted with their blood. And all the 
host of heaven shall be dissolved, and the heavens shall 
be rolled together as a scroll : and all their host shall fade 
away, as the leaf fadeth from off the vine, and as a fading 
leaf from the fig tree. For my sword hath drunk its fill in 
heaven : behold, it shall come down upon Edom, and upon 
the people of my curse, to judgement. The sword of the 
Lord is rilled with blood, it is made fat with fatness, with 
the blood of lambs and goats, with the fat of the kidneys 
of rams : for the Lord hath a sacrifice in Bozrah, and a 
great slaughter in the land of Edom. And the wild-oxen 
shall come down with them, and the bullocks with the 
bulls ; and their land shall be drunken with blood, and 
their dust made fat with fatness. For it is the day of the 

109 



Book V vii 



-*8 Isaiah 



Lord's vengeance, the year of recompence in the con- 
troversy of Zion. And the streams thereof shall be turned 
into pitch, and the dust thereof into brimstone, and the 
land thereof shall become burning pitch. It shall not be 
quenched night nor day ; the smoke thereof shall go up 
for ever : from generation to generation it shall lie waste ; 
none shall pass through it for ever and ever. But the 
pelican and the porcupine shall possess it ; and the owl 
and the raven shall dwell therein : and he shall stretch 
over it the line of confusion, and the plummet of empti- 
ness. They shall call the nobles thereof to the kingdom, 
but none shall be there ; and all her princes shall be 
nothing. And thorns shall come up in her palaces, nettles 
and thistles in the fortresses thereof: and it shall be an 
habitation of jackals, a court for ostriches. And the wild 
beasts of the desert shall meet with the wolves, and the 
satyr shall cry to his fellow ; yea, the night-monster shall 
settle there, and shall find her a place of rest. There shall 
the arrowsnake make her nest, and lay, and hatch, and 
gather under her shadow : yea, there shall the kites be 
gathered, every one with her mate. 

Seek ye out of the book of the Lord, and read : 

No one of these shall be missing, 

None shall want her mate : 
For my mouth it hath commanded, 

And his spirit it hath gathered them, 
no 



Judgment and Restoration 8«~ Book V vii 



And he hath cast the lot for them, and his hand hath 
divided it unto them by line : they shall possess it for ever, 
from generation to generation shall they dwell therein. 

2 

The wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad ; 
and the desert shall rejoice, and blossom as the rose. It 
shall blossom abundantly, and rejoice even with joy and 
singing ; the glory of Lebanon shall be given unto it, the 
excellency of Carmel and Sharon : they shall see the glory 
of the Lord, the excellency of our God. 

Strengthen ye the weak hands, 
And confirm the feeble knees ; 
Say to them that are of a fearful heart, Be strong, fear 
not : 

Behold, your God will come with vengeance, 
With the recompence of God he will come and save 
you. 

Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears 
of the deaf shall be unstopped. Then shall the lame 
man leap as an hart, and the tongue of the dumb shall 
sing: for in the wilderness shall waters break out, and 
streams in the desert. And the glowing sand shall be- 
come a pool, and the thirsty ground springs of water : in 
the habitation of jackals, where they lay, shall be grass 

in 



Book V vii 



-*8 Isaiah 



with reeds and rushes. And an highway shall be there, 
and a way, and it shall be called The way of holiness ; the 
unclean shall not pass over it ; but it shall be for those : 
the wayfaring men, yea fools, shall not err therein. No 
lion shall be there, nor shall any ravenous beast go up 
thereon, they shall not be found there ; but the redeemed 
shall w^alk there : and the ransomed of the Lord shall 
return, and come with singing unto Zion ; and everlasting 
joy shall be upon their heads : they shall obtain gladness 
and joy, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away. 

112 



Book VI 

THE MINISTRY OF ISAIAH UNDER 
HEZEKIAH 



i 

The Invasion of Sennacherib 

Now it came to pass in the fourteenth year of king 
Hezekiah, that Sennacherib king of Assyria came up 
against all the fenced cities of Judah, and took them. 
And the king of Assyria sent Rabshakeh from Lachish 
to Jerusalem unto king Hezekiah with a great army. And 
he stood by the conduit of the upper pool in the high way 
of the fuller's field. Then came forth unto him Eliakim 
the son of Hilkiah, which was over the household, and 
Shebna the scribe, and Joah the son of Asaph the recorder. 
And Rabshakeh said unto them : Say ye now to Hezekiah : 
Thus saith the great king, the king of Assyria, What con- 
fidence is this wherein thou trustest ? I say, thy counsel 
and strength for the war are but vain words : now on 
whom dost thou trust, that thou hast rebelled against me ? 
Behold, thou trustest upon the staff of this bruised reed, 
even upon Egypt ; whereon if a man lean, it will go into 
his hand, and pierce it : so is Pharaoh king of Egypt to 
all that trust on him. But if thou say unto me, We trust 

"5 



Book VI i 



-*8 Isaiah 



in the Lord our God : is not that he, whose high places 
and whose altars Hezekiah hath taken away, and hath 
said to Judah and to Jerusalem, Ye shall worship before 
this altar? Now therefore, I pray thee, give pledges to 
my master the king of Assyria, and I will give thee two 
thousand horses, if thou be able on thy part to set riders 
upon them. How then canst thou turn away the face of 
one captain of the least of my master's servants, and put 
thy trust on Egypt for chariots and for horsemen? And 
am I now come up without the Lord against this land to 
destroy it? The Lord said unto me, Go up against this 
land, and destroy it. 

Then said Eliakim and Shebna and Joah unto Rab- 
shakeh : Speak, I pray thee, unto thy servants in the 
Syrian language ; for we understand it : and speak not 
to us in the Jews' language, in the ears of the people that 
are on the wall. But Rabshakeh said : Hath my master 
sent me to thy master, and to thee, to speak these words? 
hath he not sent me to the men that sit upon the wall, to 
eat their own dung, and to drink their own water with 
you ? Then Rabshakeh stood, and cried with a loud 
voice in the Jews' language, and said : Hear ye the words 
of the great king, the king of Assyria. Thus saith the 
king, Let not Hezekiah deceive you ; for he shall not be 
able to deliver you : neither let Hezekiah make you trust 
in the Lord, saying, The Lord will surely deliver us ; 
this city shall not be given into the hand of the king of 

116 



Ministry under Hezekiah B*- 



Book VI i 



Assyria. Hearken not to Hezekiah : for thus saith the 
king of Assyria, Make your peace with me, and come out 
to me ; and eat ye every one of his vine, and every one of 
his fig tree, and drink ye every one the waters of his own 
cistern : until I come and take you away to a land like 
your own land, a land of corn and wine, a land of bread 
and vineyards. Beware lest Hezekiah persuade you, say- 
ing, The Lord will deliver us. Hath any of the gods of 
the nations delivered his land out of the hand of the king 
of Assyria ? Where are the gods of Hamath and Arpad ? 
where are the gods of Sepharvaim? and have they de- 
livered Samaria out of my hand? Who are they among 
all the gods of these countries, that have delivered 
their country out of my hand, that the Lord should de- 
liver Jerusalem out of my hand? But they held their 
peace, and answered him not a word : for the king's com- 
mandment was, saying, Answer him not. Then came 
Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, that was over the household, 
and Shebna the scribe, and Joah the son of Asaph the 
recorder, to Hezekiah with their clothes rent, and told 
him the words of Rabshakeh. 

And it came to pass, when king Hezekiah heard it, that 
he rent his clothes, and covered himself with sackcloth, 
and went into the house of the Lord. And he sent 
Eliakim, who was over the household, and Shebna the 
scribe, and the elders of the priests, covered with sack- 
cloth, unto Isaiah the prophet the son of Amoz. And 

117 



Book VI i 



-*8 Isaiah 



they said unto him : Thus saith Hezekiah, This day is a 
day of trouble, and of rebuke, and of contumely : for the 
children are come to the birth, and there is not strength to 
bring forth. It may be the Lord thy God will hear the 
words of Rabshakeh, whom the king of Assyria his master 
hath sent to reproach the living God, and will rebuke the 
words which the Lord thy God hath heard : wherefore 
lift up thy prayer for the remnant that is left. So the 
servants of king Hezekiah came to Isaiah. And Isaiah 
said unto them, Thus shall ye say to your master, Thus 
saith the Lord, Be not afraid of the words that thou hast 
heard, wherewith the servants of the king of Assyria have 
blasphemed me. Behold, I will put a spirit in him, and 
he shall hear a rumour, and shall return unto his own 
land ; and I will cause him to fall by the sword in his 
own land. 

So Rabshakeh returned, and found the king of Assyria 
warring against Libnah : for he had heard that he was 
departed from Lachish. And he heard say concerning 
Tirhakah king of Ethiopia, He is come out to fight against 
thee. And when he heard it, he sent messengers to Heze- 
kiah, saying: Thus shall ye speak to Hezekiah king of 
Judah, saying, Let not thy God in whom thou trustest 
deceive thee, saying, Jerusalem shall not be given into 
the hand of the king of Assyria. Behold, thou hast heard 
what the kings of Assyria have done to all lands, by 
destroying them utterly: and shalt thou be delivered? 

118 



Ministry under Hezekiah 8*~ 



Book VI i 



Have the gods of the nations delivered them, which my 
fathers have destroyed, Gozan, and Haran, and Rezeph, 
and the children of Eden which were in Telassar? Where 
is the king of Hamath, and the king of Arpad, and the 
king of the city of Sepharvaim, of Hena, and Ivvah ? And 
Hezekiah received the letter from the hand of the mes- 
sengers, and read it: and Hezekiah went up unto the 
house of the Lord, and spread it before the Lord. And 
Hezekiah prayed unto the Lord, saying : O Lord of hosts, 
the God of Israel, that sittest upon the cherubim, thou 
art the God, even thou alone, of all the kingdoms of the 
earth ; thou hast made heaven and earth. Incline thine 
ear, O Lord, and hear; open thine eyes, O Lord, and 
see : and hear all the words of Sennacherib, which hath 
sent to reproach the living God. Of a truth, Lord, the 
kings of Assyria have laid waste all the countries, and 
their land, and have cast their gods into the fire : for they 
were no gods, but the work of men's hands, wood and 
stone; therefore they have destroyed them. Now there- 
fore, O Lord our God, save us from his hand, that all the 
kingdoms of the earth may know that thou art the Lord, 
even thou only. 

Then Isaiah the son of Amoz sent unto Hezekiah, say- 
ing, Thus saith the Lord, the God of Israel, Whereas thou 
hast prayed to me against Sennacherib king of Assyria, 
this is the word which the Lord hath spoken concerning 
him : The virgin daughter of Zion hath despised thee and 

xi 9 



Book VI i 



-*8 Isaiah 



laughed thee to scorn; the daughter of Jerusalem hath 
shaken her head at thee. Whom hast thou reproached 
and blasphemed? and against whom hast thou exalted thy 
voice and lifted up thine eyes on high? even against the 
Holy One of Israel. By thy servants hast thou reproached 
the Lord, and hast said, With the multitude of my chariots 
am I come up to the height of the mountains, to the 
innermost parts of Lebanon ; and I will cut down the tall 
cedars thereof, and the choice hr trees thereof: and I will 
enter into his farthest height, the forest of his fruitful field. 
I have digged and drunk water, and with the sole of my 
feet will I dry up all the rivers of Egypt. Hast thou not 
heard how I have done it long ago, and formed it of ancient 
times ? now have I brought it to pass, that thou shouldest 
be to lay waste fenced cities into ruinous heaps. There- 
fore their inhabitants were of small power, they were dis- 
mayed and confounded ; they were as the grass of the 
field, and as the green herb, as the grass on the housetops, 
and as a field of corn before it be grown up. But I know 
thy sitting down, and thy going out, and thy coming in, 
and thy raging against me. Because of thy raging against 
me, and for that thine arrogancy is come up into mine 
ears, therefore will I put my hook in thy nose, and my 
bridle in thy lips, and I will turn thee back by the way by 
which thou earnest. And this shall be the sign unto thee : 
ye shall eat this year that which groweth of itself, and in 
the second year that which springeth of the same ; and 

120 



Ministry under Hezekiah B*~ Book VI i 



in the third year sow ye, and reap, and plant vineyards, 
and eat the fruit thereof. And the remnant that is escaped 
of the house of Judah shall again take root downward, and 
bear fruit upward. For out of Jerusalem shall go forth a 
remnant, and out of mount Zion they that shall escape : 
the zeal of the Lord of hosts shall perform this. There- 
fore thus saith the Lord concerning the king of Assyria, 
He shall not come unto this city, nor shoot an arrow there, 
neither shall he come before it with shield, nor cast a 
mount against it. By the way that he came, by the same 
shall he return, and he shall not come unto this city, saith 
the Lord. For I will defend this city to save it, for mine 
own sake, and for my servant David's sake. 

And the angel of the Lord went forth, and smote in 
the camp of the Assyrians a hundred and fourscore and 
five thousand : and when men arose early in the morning, 
behold, they were all dead corpses. So Sennacherib king 
of Assyria departed, and went and returned, and dwelt at 
Nineveh. And it came to pass, as he was worshipping in 
the house of Nisroch his god, that Adrammelech and 
Sharezer his sons smote him with the sword : and they 
escaped into the land of Ararat. And Esar-haddon his 
son reigned in his stead. 

121 



Book VI ii 



-*8 Isaiah 



ii 

The Sickness of Hezekiah 

In those days was Hezekiah sick unto death. And 
Isaiah the prophet the son of Amoz came to him, and said 
unto him, Thus saith the Lord, Set thine house in order ; 
for thou shalt die, and not live. Then Hezekiah turned 
his face to the wall, and prayed unto the Lord, and said, 
Remember now, O Lord, I beseech thee, how I have 
walked before thee in truth and with a perfect heart, and 
have done that which is good in thy sight. And Hezekiah 
wept sore. Then came the word of the Lord to Isaiah, 
saying, Go, and say to Hezekiah, Thus saith the Lord, 
the God of David thy father, I have heard thy prayer, I 
have seen thy tears : behold, I will add unto thy days 
fifteen years. And I will deliver thee and this city out 
of the hand of the king of Assyria : and I will defend this 
city. And this shall be the sign unto thee from the Lord, 
that the Lord will do this thing that he hath spoken : be- 
hold, I will cause the shadow on the steps, which is gone 
down on the dial of Ahaz with the sun, to return back- 
ward ten steps. So the sun returned ten steps on the dial 
whereon it was gone down. 



Ministry under Hezekiah 8^- 



Book VI ii 



Hezekiah's Song 
i 

(J said) 

In the noontide of my days I shall go into the gates of the 
grave : 

I am deprived of the residue of my years. 
(/said) 

I shall not see the Lord, even the Lord in the land of the 
living : 

I shall behold man no more with the inhabitants of the 
world. 

Mine habitation is removed, 

And is carried away from me as a shepherd's tent: 

I have rolled up like a weaver my life ; 
He will cut me off from the loom. 

From day even to night wilt thou make an end of me : 

(/ thought until morning) 
As a lion, so will he break all my bones. 

From day even to night wilt thou make an end of me : 
(Like a swallow or a crane> so did I chatter r 
I did mourn as a dove) 
Mine eyes fail with looking upward : 
O Lord, I am oppressed : be thou my surety ! 

123 



Book VI ii 



-*8 Isaiah 



2 

What shall I say? 

He hath both spoken unto me, 

And himself hath done it. 

{I shall go as in solemn procession all my years 

Because of the bitterness of my soul) 

O Lord, by these things men live ; 

And wholly therein is the life of my spirit : 

So wilt thou recover me, and make me to live. 

Behold it was for my peace that I had great bitterness ; 
But thou hast in love to my soul delivered it from the pit 

of corruption ; 
For thou hast cast all my sins behind thy back. 

For the grave cannot praise thee ; 
Death cannot celebrate thee : 

They that go down into the pit cannot hope for thy truth : 

The living, the living, he shall praise thee, 
As I do this day : 

The father to the children shall make known thy truth. 
The Lord is ready to save me ; 

Therefore we will sing my songs to the stringed instruments 
All the days of our life in the house of the Lord.* 

* Now Isaiah had said, Let them take a cake of figs, and lay it for a plais- 
ter upon the boil, and he shall recover. Hezekiah also had said, What is 
the sign that I shall go up to the house of the Lord ? 

124 



Ministry under Hezekiah 8«~ 



Book VI iii 



iii 

Hezekiah's Folly 

At that time Merodach-baladan the son of Baladan, king 
of Babylon, sent letters and a present to Hezekiah : for he 
heard that he had been sick, and was recovered. And 
Hezekiah was glad of them, and shewed them the house 
of his precious things, the silver, and the gold, and the 
spices, and the precious oil, and all the house of his 
armour, and all that was found in his treasures : there 
was nothing in his house, nor in all his dominion, that 
Hezekiah shewed them not. Then came Isaiah the prophet 
unto king Hezekiah, and said unto him, What said these 
men? and from whence came they unto thee? And Heze- 
kiah said, They are come from a far country unto me, 
even from Babylon. Then said he, What have they seen 
in thine house? And Hezekiah answered, All that is in 
mine house have they seen : there is nothing among my 
treasures that I have not shewed them. Then said Isaiah 
to Hezekiah, Hear the word of the Lord of hosts. Be- 
hold, the days come, that all that is in thine house, and 
that which thy fathers have laid up in store until this day, 
shall be carried to Babylon : nothing shall be left, saith 
the Lord. And of thy sons that shall issue from thee, 
which thou shalt beget, shall they take away; and they 

125 



Book VI iii 



-*8 Isaiah 



shall be eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon. 
Then said Hezekiah unto Isaiah, Good is the word of the 
Lord which thou hast spoken. He said moreover, For 
there shall be peace and truth in my days. 

126 



I 



Book VII 



THE RHAPSODY 

{Or Spiritual Drama) 
OF 

ZION REDEEMED 



SPEAKERS OF THE RHAPSODY 



Jehovah 

The Celestial Hosts 

The Nations 

Cyrus 

Israel 

Zion 

The Servant of Jehovah 

The Voice of Prophecy 

The Prophetic Spectator 

The Redeemer of Zion 

The Watchmen of Jerusalem 

Impersonal Voices, Cries, Hymns 



The movement of a Rhapsodic drama is not localised 
to any scene 

128 



THE RHAPSODY OF Z 70 W REDEEMED 
IN SE VEN VISIONS 

PAGE 

Prelude: A Cry of Comfort for Jerusalem . . .131 
Vision I: The Servant of Jehovah Delivered from 



Bondage 134 

Vision II: The Servant of Jehovah Awakened . . 159 

Vision III: Zion Awakened 165 

Vision IV: The Servant of Jehovah Exalted . .172 
Vision V: Songs of Zion Exalted . . . . 175 
Vision VI: Redemption at Work in Zion . . .181 
Vision VII : The Day of Judgment . . . .199 



129 



PRELUDE 



A CRY OF COMFORT FOR JERUSALEM 
Jehovah 

Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God. Speak 
ye comfortably to Jerusalem, and cry unto her, that her 
warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned ; that 
she hath received of the Lord's hand double for all her 
sins. 

[Voices carry on the tidings across the desert to Jerusalem 

A Voice of one crying 

Prepare ye in the wilderness the way of the Lord, 

Make straight in the desert a high way for our God. 
Every valley shall be exalted, 

And every mountain and hill shall be made low : 
And the crooked shall be made straight, 

And the rough places plain : 
And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, 

And all flesh shall see it together : 
For the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it. 
131 



Book VII 



-^6 Isaiah 



A Second Voice (in the distance) 

Cry! 

A Despairing Voice 

What shall I cry? 
All flesh is grass, 

And all the goodliness thereof is as the flower of the 
field: 
The grass withereth, 
The flower fadeth, 

Because the breath of the Lord bloweth upon it : 
Surely the people is grass ! 

The Second Voice 

The grass withereth, 
The flower fadeth : 
But the word of our God shall stand for ever. 

Fourth Voice {still more distant) 

O thou that tellest good tidings to Zion, 

Get thee up into the high mountain ; 
O thou that tellest good tidings to Jerusalem, 

Lift up thy voice with strength ; 
Lift it up, be not afraid ; 

Say unto the cities of Judah, Behold your God! 
132 



Zion Redeemed 8«- 



Book VII 



Fifth Voice 

Behold, the Lord God will come as a mighty one, 
And his arm shall rule for him : 
Behold, his reward is with him, 
And his recompence before him. 

He shall feed his flock like a shepherd., 

He shall gather the lambs in his arm, 

And carry them in his bosom, 

And shall gently lead those that give suck. 
133 



Book VII 



-*8 Isaiah 



VISIO N I 
THE SERVANT OF JEHOVAH DELIVERED 

Introduction 

Who hath measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, 
and meted out heaven with the span, and comprehended 
the dust of the earth in a measure, and weighed the moun- 
tains in scales, and the hills in a balance? Who hath di- 
rected the spirit of the Lord, or being his counsellor hath 
taught him ? With whom took he counsel, and who in- 
structed him, and taught him in the path of judgement, 
and taught him knowledge, and shewed to him the way of 
understanding? Behold, the nations are as a drop of a 
bucket, and are counted as the small dust of the balance : 
behold, he taketh up the isles as a very little thing. And 
Lebanon is not sufficient to burn, nor the beasts thereof 
sufficient for a burnt offering. All the nations are as noth- 
ing before him ; they are counted to him less than nothing, 
and vanity. To whom then will ye liken God? or what 
likeness will ye compare unto him ? The graven image, a 
workman melted it, and the goldsmith spreadeth it over 
with gold, and casteth for it silver chains. He that is too 
impoverished for such an oblation chooseth a tree that will 

134 



Zion Redeemed 8*- 



Book VII 



not rot ; he seeketh unto him a cunning workman to set 
up a graven image, that shall not be moved. Have ye not 
known ? have ye not heard ? hath it not been told you from 
the beginning ? have ye not understood from the founda- 
tions of the earth? It is he that sitteth upon the circle of 
the earth, and the inhabitants thereof are as grasshoppers ; 
that stretcheth out the heavens as a curtain, and spreadeth 
them out as a tent to dwell in : that bringeth princes to 
nothing ; he maketh the judges of the earth as vanity. 
Yea, they have not been planted ; yea, they have not been 
sown ; yea, their stock hath not taken root in the earth : 
moreover he bloweth upon them, and they wither, and the 
whirlwind taketh them away as stubble. To whom then 
will ye liken me, that I should be equal to him ? saith the 
Holy One. Lift up your eyes on high, and see who hath 
created these, that bringeth out their host by number : he 
calieth them all by name ; by the greatness of his might, 
and for that he is strong in power, not one is lacking. 

Why sayest thou, O Jacob, and speakest, O Israel. My 
way is hid from the Lord, and my judgement is passed 
away from my God? Hast thou not known? hast thou not 
heard ? the everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the 
ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary ; there is 
no searching of his understanding. He giveth power to 
the faint; and to him that hath no might he increaseth 
strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and 
the young men shall utterly fall : but they that wait upon 

135 



Book VII 



-*S Isaiah 



the Lord shall renew their strength ; they shall mount up 
with wings as eagles ; they shall run, and not be weary ; 
they shall walk, and not faint. 

[The Nations and Israel summoned to the Bar of Je- 
hovah 

i 

Jehovah 

Keep silence before me, O islands ; and let the peoples 
renew their strength : let them come near ; then let them 
speak : let us come near together to judgement. 

Who hath raised up one from the east, whom he calleth 
in righteousness to his foot ? he giveth nations before him, 
and maketh him rule over kings ; he giveth them as the dust 
to his sword, as the driven stubble to his bow. He pursu- 
eth them, and passe th on safely ; even by a way that he 
had not gone with his feet. Who hath wrought and done 
it, calling the generations from the beginning ? I the Lord, 
the first, and with the last, I am he. 

The isles saw, and feared; the ends of the earth 
trembled: they drew near, and came. They helped 
every one his neighbour ; and every 07ie said to his 
brother, Be of good courage. So the carpenter en- 
couraged the goldsmith, and he that smootheth with 
136 



Zion Redeemed 



Book VII 



the hammer him that smtteth the anvil, saying of 
the soldering, It is good : and he fastened it with 
nails, that it should not be moved, 

Jehovah {to Israel} 

But thou, Israel, my servant, Jacob whom I have chosen, 
the seed of Abraham my friend ; thou whom I have taken 
hold of from the ends of the earth, and called thee from 
the corners thereof, and said unto thee, Thou art my ser- 
vant, I have chosen thee and not cast thee away ; fear thou 
not, for I am with thee ; be not dismayed, for I am thy God : 
I will strengthen thee ; yea, I will help thee ; yea, I will up- 
hold thee with the right hand of my righteousness. Behold, 
all they that are incensed against thee shall be ashamed and 
confounded : they that strive with thee shall be as nothing, 
and shall perish. Thou shalt seek them, and shalt not find 
them, even them that contend with thee : they that war 
against thee shall be as nothing, and as a thing of nought. 
For I the Lord thy God will hold thy right hand, saying 
unto thee, Fear not ; I will help thee. Fear not, thou worm 
Jacob, and ye men of Israel ; I will help thee, saith the 
Lord, and thy redeemer is the Holy One of Israel. Be- 
hold, I will make thee a new sharp threshing instrument 
having teeth : thou shalt thresh the mountains, and beat 
them small, and shalt make the hills as chaff. Thou shalt 
fan them, and the wind shall carry them away, and the 

137 



Book VII 



~>8 Isaiah 



whirlwind shall scatter them : and thou shalt rejoice in the 
Lord, thou shalt glory in the Holy One of Israel. The 
poor and needy seek water and there is none, and their 
tongue faileth for thirst ; I the Lord will answer them, I 
the God of Israel will not forsake them. I will open rivers 
on the bare heights, and fountains in the midst of the val- 
leys : I will make the wilderness a pool of water, and the 
dry land springs of water. I will plant in the wilderness 
the cedar, the acacia tree, and the myrtle, and the oil tree ; 
I will set in the desert the fir tree, the pine, and the box 
tree together : that they may see, and know, and consider, 
and understand together, that the hand of the Lord hath 
done this, and the Holy One of Israel hath created it. 



ii 

Jehovah {to the Nations) 

Produce your cause, saith the Lord ; bring forth your 
strong reasons, saith the King of Jacob. Let them bring 
them forth, and declare unto us what shall happen : de- 
clare ye the former things, what they be, that we may con- 
sider them, and know the latter end of them ; or shew us 
things for to come. Declare the things that are to come 
hereafter, that we may know that ye are gods : yea, do 
good, or do evil, that we may look one upon another, and 
behold it together. {No response.) Behold, ye are of 



Zion Redeemed 



Book VII 



nothing, and your work of nought: an abomination is 
he that chooseth you. 

I have raised up one from the north, and he is come ; 
from the rising of the sun one that calleth upon my name : 
and he shall come upon rulers as upon mortar, and as the 
potter treadeth clay. Who hath declared it from the be- 
ginning, that we may know ? and beforetime, that we may 
say, He is righteous? yea, there is none that declareth, 
yea, there is none that sheweth, yea, there is none that 
heareth your words. I first will say unto Zion, Behold, 
behold them ; and I will give to Jerusalem one that bringeth 
good tidings. (No response.) And when I look, there 
is no man ; even among them there is no counsellor, that, 
when I ask of them, can answer a word. Behold, all of 
them, their works are vanity and nought : their molten 
images are wind and confusion. 



Jehovah (to Israel) 

Behold my servant, whom I uphold ; my chosen, in 
whom my soul delighteth : I have put my spirit upon him ; 
he shall bring forth judgement to the nations. He shall 
not cry, nor lift up, nor cause his voice to be heard in the 
street. A bruised reed shall he not break, and the smok- 
ing flax shall he not quench : he shall bring forth judge- 
ment in truth. He shall not burn dimly nor be bruised, 
till he have set judgement in the earth ; and the isles shall 

i39 



Bock VII 



■^8 Isaiah 



wait for his lav,-. Thus saith God the Lord, he that cre- 
ated the heavens, and stretched them forth : he that spread 
abroad the earth and that which cometh out of it ; he that 
giveth breath unto the people upon it. and spirit to them 
that walk therein: I the Lord have called thee in right- 
eousness, and will hold thine hand, and will keep thee, 
and give thee for a covenant of the people, for a light of 
the nations : to open the blind eyes, to bring out the pris- 
oners from the dungeon, and them that sit in darkness out 
of the prison house. I am the LoPvD : that is my name : 
and my glory will I not give to another, neither my praise 
unto graven images. 

Behold, the former things are come to pass, and new 
things do I declare : before they spring forth I tell you of 
them. — 

Hy:jx of Joy 

Sing unto the Lord a new song. 

And his praise from the end of the earth : 
Ye that go down to the sea. and all that is therein. 

The isles, and the inhabitants thereof. 
Let the wilderness and the cities thereof lift up their 
voice. 

The villages that Kedar doth inhabit ; 
Let the inhabitants of Sela sing. 

Let them shout from the top of the mountains. 
14c 



jl 

Zion Redeemed 8<- 



Book VII 



Let them give glory unto the Lord, 
And declare his praise in the islands . 

The Lord shall go forth as a mighty man ; 

He shall stir up zeal like a man of war : 
He shall cry, yea, he shall shout aloud ; 

He shall do mightily against his enemies. 



Jehovah (continues) 

— I have long time holden my peace ; I have been still, 
and refrained myself: now will I cry out like a travailing 
woman ; I will gasp and pant together. I will make waste 
mountains and hills, and dry up all their herbs ; and I will 
make the rivers islands, and will dry up the pools. And 
I will bring the blind by a way that they know not ; in 
paths that they know not will I lead them : I will make 
darkness light before them, and crooked places straight. 
These things will I do, and I will not forsake them. They 
shall be turned back, they shall be greatly ashamed, that 
trust in graven images, that say unto molten images, Ye 
are our gods. 

Hear, ye deaf; and look, ye blind, that ye may see. 
Who is blind, but my servant ? or deaf, as my messenger 
that I send? who is blind as he that is at peace with me, 
and blind as the Lord's servant ? Thou seest many things, 

141 



Book VII 



-*3 Isaiah 



but thou observest not ; his ears are open, but he heareth 
not. It pleased the Lord, for his righteousness* sake, to 
magnify the law, and make it honourable. But this is a 
people robbed and spoiled ; they are all of them snared in 
holes, and they are hid in prison houses : they are for a 
prey, and none delivereth ; for a spoil, and none saith, 
Restore. Who is there among you that will give ear to 
this? that will hearken and hear for the time to come? 
'Who gave Jacob for a spoil, and Israel to the robbers? 
did not the Lord? he against whom we have sinned, and 
in whose ways they would not walk, neither were they 
obedient unto his law. Therefore he poured upon him 
the fury of his anger, and the strength of battle ; and it 
set him on fire round about, yet he knew not ; and it 
burned him, yet he laid it not to heart.' 

But now thus saith the Lord that created thee, O Jacob, 
and he that formed thee, O Israel : Fear not, for I have 
redeemed thee ; I have called thee by thy name, thou art 
mine. When thou passest through the waters, I will be 
with thee ; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow 
thee : when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt 
not be burned ; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee. 
For I am the Lord thy God, the Holy One of Israel, thy 
saviour ; I have given Egypt as thy ransom ; Ethiopia and 
Seba for thee. Since thou hast been precious in my sight, 
and honourable, and I have loved thee ; therefore will I 
give men for thee, and peoples for thy life. Fear not ; for 

142 



Zion Redeemed 8^ 



Book VII 



I am with thee : I will bring thy seed from the east, and 
gather thee from the west ; I will say to the north, Give 
up ; and to the south, Keep not back ; bring my sons from 
far, and my daughters from the end of the earth ; every one 
that is called by my name, and whom I have created for 
my glory ; I have formed him ; yea, I have made him. 
Bring forth the blind people that have eyes, and the deaf 
that have ears. 

iii 

Jehovah {to the Nations) 

Gather yourselves together all ye nations, and let the 
peoples be assembled : who among them can declare this, 
and shew us former things? let them bring their witnesses, 
that they may be justified : or let them hear, and say, It is 
truth. Ye are my witnesses, saith the Lord, and my ser- 
vant whom I have chosen : that ye may know and believe 
me, and understand that I am he ; before me there was no 
God formed, neither shall there be after me. I, even I, 
am the Lord ; and beside me there is no saviour. I have 
declared, and I have saved, and I have shewed, and there 
was no strange God among you : therefore ye are my wit- 
nesses, saith the Lord, and I am God. Yea, from this day 
forth I am he ; and there is none that can deliver out of 
my hand : I will work, and who shall let it? 

i43 



Book VII 



-*8 Isaiah 



Jehovah (to Israel) 

Thus saith the Lord, your redeemer, the Holy One of 
Israel : For your sake I have sent to Babylon, and I will 
bring down all of them as fugitives, even the Chaldeans, 
in the ships of their rejoicing. I am the Lord, your Holy 
One, the Creator of Israel, your King. Thus saith the 
Lord, which maketh a way in the sea, and a path in the 
mighty waters ; which bringeth forth the chariot and horse, 
the army and the power : they shall lie down together, they 
shall not rise ; they are extinct, they are quenched as flax. 
Remember ye not the former things, neither consider the 
things of old. Behold, I will do a new thing ; now shall 
it spring forth ; shall ye not know it? I will even make a 
way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert. The beasts 
of the field shall honour me, the jackals and the ostriches : 
because I give waters in the wilderness, and rivers in the 
desert, to give drink to my people, my chosen : the people 
which I formed for myself, that they might set forth my 
praise. 

Yet thou hast not called upon me, O Jacob ; but thou 
hast been weary of me, O Israel. Thou hast not brought 
me the small cattle of thy burnt offerings ; neither hast thou 
honoured me with thy sacrifices. I have not made thee 
to serve with offerings, nor wearied thee with frankincense. 
Thou hast bought me no sweet cane w T ith money, neither 
hast thou filled me with the fat of thy sacrifices : but thou 

144 



Zion Redeemed S*- 



Book VII 



hast made me to serve with thy sins, thou hast weaned me 
with thine iniquities. I, even I, am he that blotteth out 
thy transgressions for mine own sake ; and I will not re- 
member thy sins. Put me in remembrance ; let us plead 
together : set thou forth thy cause, that thou mayest be 
justified. Thy first father sinned, and thine interpreters 
have trangressed against me. Therefore I have profaned 
the princes of the sanctuary, and I have made Jacob a 
curse, and Israel a reviling. Yet now hear, O Jacob my 
servant ; and Israel, whom I have chosen : thus saith the 
Lord that made thee, and formed thee from the womb, 
who will help thee : Fear not, O Jacob my servant ; and 
thou, Jeshurun, whom I have chosen. For I will pour 
water upon the thirsty land, and streams upon the dry 
ground: I will pour my spirit upon thy seed, and my 
blessing upon thine offspring : and they shall spring up 
among the grass, as willows by the watercourses. One 
shall say, I am the Lord's ; and another shall call himself 
by the name of Jacob ; and another shall subscribe with 
his hand unto the Lord, and surname himself by the 
name of Israel. 

iv 

Jehovah (to the Nations) 

Thus saith the Lord, the King of Israel, and his redeemer 
the Lord of hosts : I am the first, and I am the last ; and 
l i4S 



Book VII 



-*S Isaiah 



beside me there is no God. And who, as I, can proclaim? 
let him declare it, and set it in order for me. since I ap- 
pointed the ancient people? and the things that are com- 
ing, and that shall come to pass, let them declare. Fear 
ye not, neither be afraid : have I not declared unto thee of 
old, and shewed it? and ye are my witnesses. Is there a 
God beside me? yea, there is no Rock: I know not any. 
They that fashion a graven image are all of them vanity ; 
and their delectable things shall not profit : and their 
owm witnesses see not, nor know ; that they may be 
ashamed. Who hath fashioned a god, or molten a graven 
image that is profitable for nothing ? Behold, all his fellows 
shall be ashamed ; and the workmen, they are of men : let 
them all be gathered together, let them stand up ; they 
shall fear, they shall be ashamed together. The smith 
maketh an axe, and worketh in the coals, and fashioneth 
it with hammers, and worketh it with his strong arm : yea, 
he is hungry, and his strength faileth ; he drinketh no 
water, and is faint. The carpenter stretcheth out a line ; 
he marketh it out with a pencil ; he shape th it w T ith planes, 
and he marketh it out with the compasses, and shapeth it 
after the figure of a man, according to the beauty of a man, 
to dwell in the house. He heweth him down cedars, and 
taketh the holm tree and the oak, and strengthened for 
himself one among the trees of the forest : he planteth a 
fir tree, and the rain doth nourish it. Then shall it be for 
a man to burn ; and he taketh thereof, and warmeth him- 

146 



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Book VII 



self ; yea, he kindleth it, and baketh bread : yea, he maketh 
a god, and worshippeth it ; he maketh it a graven image, 
and falleth down thereto. He burnetii part thereof in the 
fire ; with part thereof he eateth flesh ; he roasteth roast, 
and is satisfied : yea, he warmeth himself, and saith, Aha, 
I am warm, I have seen the fire : — and the residue thereof 
he maketh a god, even his graven image : he falleth down 
unto it and worshippeth, and prayeth unto it, and saith, 
Deliver me ; for thou art my god ! They know not, neither 
do they consider: for he hath shut their eyes, that they 
cannot see ; and their hearts, that they cannot understand. 
And none calleth to mind, neither is there knowledge nor 
understanding to say, I have burned part of it in the fire ; 
yea, also I have baked bread upon the coals thereof ; I have 
roasted flesh and eaten it: and shall I make the residue 
thereof an abomination ? shall I fall down to the stock of 
a tree ? He feedeth on ashes : a deceived heart hath turned 
him aside, that he cannot deliver his soul, nor say, Is there 
not a lie in my right hand ? 



Jehovah (to Israel) 

Remember these things, O Jacob ; and Israel, for thou 
art my servant : I have formed thee ; thou art my servant : 
O Israel, thou shalt not be forgotten of me. I have blotted 
out, as a thick cloud, thy transgressions, and, as a cloud, 
thy sins : return unto me ; for I have redeemed thee. — 

147 



Eook VII 



Isaiah 



Hymn of Joy 

Sing, O ye heavens, 

For the Lord hath done it ; 
Shout, ye lower parts of the earth ; 
Break forth into singing, ye mountains, 
O forest, and even' tree therein : 

For the Lord hath redeemed Jacob, 

And will glorify himself in Israel. 

Jehovah (continues) 

— Thus saith the Lord, thy redeemer, and he that formed 
thee from the womb : I am the Lord, that maketh all 
things : that stretcheth forth the heavens alone ; that 
spreadeth abroad the earth ; who is with me ? that frus- 
trateth the tokens of the liars, and maketh diviners mad ; 
that turneth wise men backward, and maketh their know- 
ledge foolish : that connrmeth the word of his sen-ant, and 
performeth the counsel of his messengers : that saith of 
Jerusalem, She shall be inhabited ; and of the cities of 
Judah, They shall be built, and I will raise up the waste 
places thereof : that saith to the deep. Be dry, and I will 
dry up thy rivers : that saith of Cyrus, He is my shepherd, 
and shall perform all my pleasure : even saying of Jerusalem, 
She shall be built ; and the foundation of the temple shall 
be laid. 

148 



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V 

Jehovah (to the Nations and Cyr?is) 

Thus saith the Lord to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose 
right hand I have holden, to subdue nations before him, 
and I will loose the loins of kings ; to open the doors 
before him, and the gates shall not be shut ; I will go 
before thee, and make the rugged places plain : I will 
break in pieces the doors of brass, and cut in sunder the 
bars of iron : and I will give thee the treasures of darkness, 
and hidden riches of secret places, that thou mayest know 
that I am the Lord, which call thee by thy name, even the 
God of Israel. For Jacob my servant's sake, and Israel 
my chosen, I have called thee by thy name : I have sur- 
named thee, though thou hast not known me. I am the 
Lord, and there is none else ; beside me there is no God : 
I will gird thee, though thou hast not known me : that they 
may know from the rising of the sun, and from the west, 
that there is none beside me : I am the Lord, and there 
is none else. I form the light, and create darkness ; I 
make peace, and create evil ; I am the Lord, that doeth 
all these things : — 

149 



Book VII 



-38 Isaiah 



Outburst of Joy 

Drop down, ye heavens, from above, 

And let the skies pour down righteousness ; 
Let the earth open, that they may bring forth salva- 
tion, 

And let her cause righteousness to spring up 
together. 

— I the Lord have created it. Woe unto him that striveth 
with his Maker! a potsherd among the potsherds of the 
earth ! Shall the clay say to him that fashioneth it, What 
makest thou? or thy. work, He hath no hands? Woe unto 
him that saith unto a father, What begettest thou? or to 
a woman, With what travailest thou? Thus saith the 
Lord, the Holy One of Israel, and his Maker : Ask me 
of the things that are to come ; concerning my sons, and 
concerning the work of my hands, command ye me. I 
have made the earth, and created man upon it : I, even 
my hands, have stretched out the heavens, and all their 
host have I commanded. I have raised him up in right- 
eousness, and I will make straight all his ways : he shall 
build my city, and he shall let my exiles go free, not for 
price nor reward, saith the Lord of hosts. 

Thus saith the Lord, The labour of Egypt, and the 
merchandise of Ethiopia, and the Sabeans, men of stature, 
shall come over unto thee, and they shall be thine ; they 

150 



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shall go after thee ; in chains they shall come over : and 
they shall fall down unto thee, they shall make supplica- 
tion unto thee : ' Surely God is in thee ; and there is none 
else, there is no God. Verily thou art a God that hidest 
thyself, O God of Israel, the Saviour.' They shall be 
ashamed, yea, confounded, all of them : they shall go into 
confusion together that are makers of idols. But Israel 
shall be saved by the Lord with an everlasting salvation : 
ye shall not be ashamed nor confounded world without 
end. 

For thus saith the Lord that created the heavens ; he is 
God ; that formed the earth and made it ; he established 
it, he created it not a waste, he formed it to be inhabited : 
I am the Lord ; and there is none else. I have not spoken 
in secret, in a place of the land of darkness ; I said not 
unto the seed of Jacob, Seek ye me in vain : I the Lord 
speak righteousness, I declare things that are right. As- 
semble yourselves and come ; draw near together, ye that 
are escaped of the nations : they have no knowledge that 
carry the wood of their graven image, and pray unto a god 
that cannot save. Declare ye, and bring it forth ; yea, let 
them take counsel together : who hath shewed this from 
ancient time ? who hath declared it of old ? have not I the 
Lord? and there is no God else beside me; a just God 
and a saviour ; there is none beside me. Look unto me, and 
be ye saved, all the ends of the earth : for I am God, 
and there is none else. By myself have I sworn, the word 

151 



Book VII 



Isaiah 



is gone forth from my mouth in righteousness, and shall 
not return, that unto me every knee shall bow, every tongue 
shall swear. Only in the Lord, shall one say unto me, is 
righteousness and strength : even to him shall men come, 
and all they that were incensed against him shall be 
ashamed. In the Lord shall all the seed of Israel be jus- 
tified, and shall glory. Bel boweth down, Nebo stoopeth ; 
their idols are upon the beasts, and upon the cattle : the 
things that ye carried about are made a load, a burden to 
the weary beast. They stoop, they bow down together ; 
they could not deliver the burden, but themselves are gone 
into captivity. 

Jehovah {to Israel) 

Hearken unto me, O house of Jacob, and all the rem- 
nant of the house of Israel, which have been borne by me 
from the belly, which have been carried from the womb : 
and even to old age I am he, and even to hoar' hairs will 
I carry you : I have made, and I will bear ; yea, I will carry, 
and will deliver. To whom will ye liken me, and make me 
equal, and compare me, that we may be like? Such as 
lavish gold out of the bag, and weigh silver in the balance, 
they hire a goldsmith, and he maketh it a god ; they fall 
down, yea, they worship. They bear him upon the shoul- 
der, they carry him, and set him in his place, and he 
standeth ; from his place shall he not remove : yea, one 

1^2 



Zion Redeemed 8*- 



Book VII 



shall cry unto him, yet can he not answer, nor save him 
out of his trouble. 

Remember this, and stand fast : bring it again to mind, 
O ye transgressors. Remember the former things of old : 
for I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and 
there is none like me ; declaring the end from the be- 
ginning, and from ancient times things that are not yet 
done ; saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my 
pleasure : calling a ravenous bird from the east, the man 
of my counsel from a far country ; yea, I have spoken, I 
will also bring it to pass ; I have purposed, I will also do 
it. Hearken unto me, ye stout-hearted, that are far from 
righteousness : I bring near my righteousness, it shall not 
be far off, and my salvation shall not tarry ; and I will give 
salvation in Zion and my glory unto Israel. 



vi 

Israevs Triumph over Babylon 

Come down, and sit in the dust, O virgin daughter of 
Babylon ; 

Sit on the ground without a throne, O daughter of the 
Chaldeans : 

For thou shalt no more be called tender and delicate. 
iS3 



Book VII 



-58 Isaiah 



Take the millstones, and grind meal ; 
Remove thy veil, strip off the train ; 
Uncover the leg, pass through the rivers : 

Thy nakedness shall be uncovered, 

Yea, thy shame shall be seen. 

" I will take vengeance, and will accept no man ! n 
Our redeemer, the Lord of hosts is his name : 
The Holy One of Israel! 

Sit thou silent, 

And get thee into darkness, O daughter of the Chal- 
deans : 

For thou shalt no more be called, the Lady of King- 
doms. 



Jehovah (to the Nations and Babylon) 

I was wroth with my people, I profaned mine inheritance, 
and gave them into thine hand : thou didst shew them no 
mercy ; upon the aged hast thou very heavily laid thy 
yoke. And thou saidst, I shall be a lady for ever : so that 
thou didst not lay these things to thy heart, neither didst 
remember the latter end thereof. Now therefore hear this, 
thou that art given to pleasures, that dwellest carelessly, 
that say est in thine heart, I am, and there is none else 
beside me ; I shall not sit as a widow, neither shall I know 

154 



Zion Redeemed 8*- 



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the loss of children : but these two things shall come to 
thee in a moment in one day, the loss of children, and 
widowhood : in their full measure shall they come upon 
thee, despite of the multitude of thy sorceries, and the 
great abundance of thine enchantments. For thou hast 
trusted in thy wickedness ; thou hast said, None seeth me ; 
thy wisdom and thy knowledge, it hath perverted thee : 
and thou hast said in thine heart, I am, and there is none 
else beside me. Therefore shall evil come upon thee ; 
thou shalt not know the dawning thereof: and mischief 
shall fall upon thee ; thou shalt not be able to put it away : 
and desolation shall come upon thee suddenly, which thou 
knowest not. Stand now with thine enchantments, and 
with the multitude of thy sorceries, wherein thou hast 
laboured from thy youth ; if so be thou shalt be able to 
profit, if so be thou mayest prevail. Thou art wearied in 
the multitude of thy counsels : let now the astrologers, the 
stargazers, the monthly prognosticators, stand up, and save 
thee from the things that shall come upon thee. Behold, 
they shall be as stubble ; the fire shall burn them ; they 
shall not deliver themselves from the power of the flame : 
it shall not be a coal to warm at, nor a fire to sit before. 
Thus shall the things be unto thee wherein thou hast 
laboured : they that have trafficked with thee from thy 
youth shall wander every one to his quarter ; there shall be 
none to save thee. 

iS5 



Book VII 



-*8 Isaiah 



Jehovah (to Israel) 

Hear ye this, O house of Jacob, which are called by the 
name of Israel, and are come forth out of the waters of 
Judah ; which swear by the name of the Lord, and make 
mention of the God of Israel, but not in truth, nor in right- 
eousness. For they call themselves of the holy city, and 
stay themselves upon the God of Israel ; the Lord of hosts 
is his name. I have declared the former things from of 
old ; yea, they went forth out of my mouth, and I shewed 
them : suddenly I did them, and they came to pass. Be- 
cause I knew that thou art obstinate, and thy neck is an 
iron sinew, and thy brow brass ; therefore I have declared 
it to thee from of old ; before it came to pass I shewed it 
thee : lest thou shouldest say, Mine idol hath done them, 
and my graven image, and my molten image, hath com- 
manded them. Thou hast heard it ; behold all this ; and 
ye, will ye not declare it ? I have shewed thee new things 
from this time, even hidden things, which thou hast not 
known. They are created now, and not from of old ; and 
before this day thou heardest them not ; lest thou shouldest 
say, Behold, I knew them. Yea, thou heardest not ; yea, 
thou knewest not ; yea, from of old thine ear was not 
opened : for I knew that thou didst deal very treacherously, 
and wast called a transgressor from the womb. For my 
name's sake will I defer mine anger, and for my praise will 
I refrain for thee, that I cut thee not off. Behold, I have 

156 



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Book VII 



refined thee, but not as silver ; I have chosen thee in the 
furnace of affliction. For mine own sake, for mine own 
sake, will I do it ; for how should my name be profaned ? 
and ray glory will I not give to another. Hearken unto 
me, O Jacob, and Israel my called : I am he ; I am the 
first, I also am the last. Yea, mine hand hath laid the 
foundation of the earth, and my right hand hath spread out 
the heavens : when I call unto them, they stand up to- 
gether. 

vii 

Jehovah (to the Nations} 

Assemble yourselves, all ye, and hear; which among 
them hath declared these things? He whom the Lord 
loveth shall perform his pleasure on Babylon, and his arm 
shall be on the Chaldeans. I, even I, have spoken ; yea, 
I have called him : I have brought him, and he shall make 
his way prosperous. Come ye near unto me, hear ye this ; 
from the beginning I have not spoken in secret : — 



Voice of Cyrus {heard responding) 

From the time that it was, there am I : 
And now the Lord God hath sent me, and his spirit. 
iS7 



Book VII 



-»8 Isaiah 



Jehovah {to Israel} 

Thus saith the Lord, thy redeemer, the Holy One of 
Israel : I am the Lord thy God, which teacheth thee to 
profit, which leadeth thee by the way that thou shouldest 
go. Oh that thou hadst hearkened to my commandments ! 
then had thy peace been as a river, and thy righteousness 
as the waves of the sea: thy seed also had been as the 
sand, and the offspring of thy bowels like the grains 
thereof: his name should not be cut off nor destroyed 
from before me. 

Go ye forth of Babylon, 

Flee ye from the Chaldeans ; 

with a voice of singing declare ye, tell this, utter it even 
to the end of the earth : say ye, 

The Lord hath redeemed his servant Jacob : 

And they thirsted not when he led them through the 
deserts : 

He caused the waters to flow out of the rock for them : 
He clave the rock also, and the waters gushed out. 

* 



Wfym is no peace, sattfj tfje 3L©&b, unto tfje bricftefc. 
158 



Zion Redeemed 8*- 



Book VII 



VISION II 
THE SERVANT OF JEHOVAH AWAKENED 

i 

The Servant of Jehovah Awakened to his Mission 
Jehovah's Servant 

Listen, O isles, unto me ; and hearken, ye peoples, from 
far : the Lord hath called me from the womb ; from the 
bowels of my mother hath he made mention of my name : 
and he hath made my mouth like a sharp sword, in the 
shadow of his hand hath he hid me ; and he hath made me 
a polished shaft, in his quiver hath he kept me close : and 
he said unto me, Thou art my servant ; Israel, in whom I 
will be glorified. But I said, I have laboured in vain, I 
have spent my strength for nought and vanity : yet surely 
my judgement is with the Lord, and my recompence with 
my God. And now saith the Lord that formed me from the 
womb to be his servant, to bring Jacob again to him, and 
that Israel be gathered unto him : (for I am honourable in 
the eyes of the Lord, and my God is become my strength :) 
yea, he saith, It is too light a thing that thou shouldest be 
my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to restore 
the preserved of Israel : I will also give thee for a light to 

159 



Book VII 



-»3 Isaiah 



the Gentiles, that thou mayest be my salvation unto the 
end of the earth. 

ii 

The Ministry to Zion 
Jehovah's Servant 

Thus saith the Lord, the redeemer of Israel, and his 
Holy One, to him whom man despiseth, to him whom the 
nation abhorreth, to a servant of rulers : Kings shall see 
and arise ; princes, and they shall w r orship ; because of the 
Lord that is faithful, even the Holy One of Israel, who 
hath chosen thee. Thus saith the Lord, In an acceptable 
time have I answered thee, and in a day of salvation have 
I helped thee : and I will preserve thee, and give thee for 
a covenant of the people, to raise up the land, to make 
them inherit the desolate heritages : saying to them that 
are bound, Go forth ; to them that are in darkness, Shew 
yourselves. They shall feed in the ways, and on all bare 
heights shall be their pasture. They shall not hunger nor 
thirst ; neither shall the heat nor sun smite them : for he 
that hath mercy on them shall lead them, even by the 
springs of water shall he guide them. And I will make all 
my mountains a way, and my high ways shall be exalted. 
Lo, these shall come from far : and. lo. these from the north 
and from the west ; and these from the land of Sinim. 

1 60 



Zion Redeemed 6^- 



Book VII 



Hymn of Joy 

Sing, O heavens ; 

And be joyful, O earth ; 

And break forth into singing, O mountains : 
For the Lord hath comforted his people, 
And will have compassion upon his afflicted. 

Zion 

Jehovah hath forsaken me, and the Lord hath forgotten 
me. 

Jehovah's Servant 

" Can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should 
not have compassion on the son of her womb ? yea, these 
may forget, yet will not I forget thee. Behold, I have 
graven thee upon the palms of my hands ; thy walls are 
continually before me. Thy children make haste ; thy 
destroyers and they that made thee waste shall go forth 
of thee. Lift up thine eyes round about, and behold: all 
these gather themselves together, and come to thee. As I 
live," saith the Lord, " thou shalt surely clothe thee with 
them all as with an ornament, and gird thyself with them, 
like a bride. For, as for thy waste and thy desolate places 
and thy land that hath been destroyed, surely now shalt 
thou be too strait for the inhabitants, and they that swal- 
m 161 



Book VII 



-*B Isaiah 



lowed thee up shall be far away. The children of thy 
bereavement shall yet say in thine ears, The place is too 
strait for me ; give place to me that I may dwell." 

Zion 

Who hath begotten me these, seeing I have been be- 
reaved of my children, and am solitary, an exile, and 
wandering to and fro? and who hath brought up these? 
Behold, I was left alone ; these, where were they ? 

Jehovah's Servant 
Thus saith the Lord God, " Behold, I will lift up mine 
hand to the nations, and set up mine ensign to the peoples : 
and they shall bring thy sons in their bosom, and thy 
daughters shall be carried upon their shoulders. And 
kings shall be thy nursing fathers, and their queens thy 
nursing mothers : they shall bow down to thee with their 
faces to the earth, and lick the dust of thy feet ; and thou 
shalt know that I am the Lord, and they that wait for me 
shall not be ashamed." 

Zion 

Shall the prey be taken from the mighty, or the captives 
of the terrible be delivered ? 

Jehovah's Servant 
But thus saith the Lord, "Even the captives of the 
mighty shall be taken away, and the prey of the terrible 

162 



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Book VII 



shall be delivered : for I will contend with him that con- 
tendeth with thee, and I will save thy children. And I 
will feed them that oppress thee with their own flesh ; and 
they shall be drunken with their own blood, as with sweet 
wine: and all flesh shall know that I the Lord am thy 
saviour, and thy redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob. 1 ' 
Thus saith the Lord, " Where is the bill of your mother's 
divorcement, wherewith I have put her away ? or which of 
my creditors is it to whom I have sold you ? Behold, for 
your iniquities were ye sold, and for your transgressions 
was your mother put away. Wherefore, when I came, was 
there no man? when I called, was there none to answer? 
Is my hand shortened at all, that it cannot redeem? or 
have I no power to deliver? Behold, at my rebuke I dry 
up the sea, I make the rivers a wilderness : their fish 
stinketh, because there is no water, and dieth for thirst. 
I clothe the heavens with blackness, and I make sackcloth 
their covering." 

iii 

The Ministry to the Nations 

Jehovah's Servant 

The Lord God hath given me the tongue of them that 
are taught, that I should know how to sustain with words 
him that is weary : he wakeneth morning by morning, he 

163 



Book VII 



-*S Isaiah 



wakeneth mine ear to hear as they that are taught. The 
Lord God hath opened mine ear, and I was not rebellious, 
neither turned away backward. I gave my back to the 
smiters, and my cheeks to them that plucked off the hair : 
I hid not my face from shame and spitting. For the Lord 
God will help me ; therefore have I not been confounded : 
therefore have I set my face like a flint, and I know that I 
shall not be ashamed. He is near that justifieth me ; who 
will contend with me? let us stand up together: who is 
mine adversary? let him come near to me. Behold, the 
Lord God will help me ; who is he that shall condemn 
me? behold, they all shall wax old as a garment; the 
moth shall eat them up. 

Who is among you that feareth the Lord, that obeyeth 
the voice of his servant? though he walketh in darkness, 
and hath no light, let him trust in the name of the Lord, 
and stay upon his God. Behold, all ye that kindle a fire, 
that gird yourselves about with firebrands : walk ye in the 
flame of your fire, and among the brands that ye have 
kindled. This shall ye have of mine hand; ye shall lie 
down in sorrow. 

164 



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Book VII 



VISION III 

ZION AWAKENED 

i 

Appeals to Zion 
Jehovah 

Hearken to me, ye that follow after righteousness, ye 
that seek the Lord : look unto the rock whence ye were 
hewn, and to the hole of the pit whence ye were digged. 
Look unto Abraham your father, and unto Sarah that bare 
you : for when he was but one I called him, and I blessed 
him, and made him many. 

For the Lord hath comforted Zion: he hath comforted 
all her waste places, and hath made her wilderness like 
Eden, and her desert like the garden of the Lord ; joy 
and gladness shall be found therein, thanksgiving, and the 
voice of melody. 

(No response) 
Jehovah 

Attend unto me, O my people ; and give ear unto me, O 
my nation : for a law shall go forth from me, and I will 

165 



Book VII 



-36 Isaiah 



make my judgement to rest for a light of the peoples. My 
righteousness is near, my salvation is gone forth, and mine 
arms shall judge the peoples ; the isles shall wait for me, 
and on mine arm shall they trust. 

Lift up your eyes to the heavens, and look upon the earth 
beneath : for the heavens shall vanish away like smoke, 
and the earth shall wax old like a garment, and they that 
dwell therein shall die in like manner : but my salvation 
shall be for ever, and my righteousness shall not be abol- 
ished. 

(iVb response) 
Jehovah 

Hearken unto me, ye that know righteousness, the 
people in whose heart is my law ; fear ye not the reproach 
of men, neither be ye dismayed at their revilings. 

For the moth shall eat them up like a garment, and the 
wonn shall eat them like wool : but my righteousness shall 
be for ever, and my salvation unto all generations. 

{No response) 

The Celestial Hosts 

Awake, awake, put on strength, O arm of the Lord ; 
Awake, as in the days of old, 
The generations of ancient times ! 

166 



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Book VII 



Art thou not it that cut Rahab in pieces, 

That pierced the dragon ? 
Art thou not it which dried up the sea, 

The waters of the great deep ; 

That made the depths of the sea 
A way for the redeemed to pass over? 

And the ransomed of the Lord shall return, 
And come with singing unto Zion ; 

And everlasting joy shall be upon their heads : 
They shall obtain gladness and joy, 

And sorrow and sighing shall flee away. 

Jehovah 

I, even I, am he that comforteth you : who art thou, that 
thou art afraid of man that shall die, and of the son of man 
which shall be made as grass ; and hast forgotten the Lord 
thy Maker, that stretched forth the heavens, and laid the 
foundations of the earth ; and fearest continually all the 
day because of the fury of the oppressor, when he maketh 
ready to destroy? And where is the fury of the oppressor? 
The captive exile shall speedily be loosed ; and he shall not 
die and go down into the pit, neither shall his bread fail. 

For I am the Lord thy God, which stilleth the sea, 
when the waves thereof roar: the Lord of hosts is his 
name. And I have put my words in thy mouth, and have 

167 



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-3S Isaiah 



covered thee in the shadow of mine hand, that I may plant 
the heavens, and lay the foundations of the earth, and say 
unto Zion, Thou art my people. 

{No 7' espouse) 

The Celestial Hosts 

Awake, awake, stand up. O Jerusalem, 
Which hast drunk at the hand of the Lord the cup of 
his fury ; 

Thou hast drunken the bowl of the cup of staggering, 
and drained it. 

There is none to guide her 

Among all the sons whom she hath brought forth ; 
Neither is there any that taketh her by the hand 

Of all the sons that she hath brought up. 

These two things are befallen thee ; 

Who shall bemoan thee? 
Desolation and destruction. 
And the famine, and the sword, 

How shall I comfort thee? 

Thy sons have fainted, 

They lie at the top of all the streets, 

As an antelope in a net : 
They are full of the fury of the Lord, 

The rebuke of thy God. 

16S 



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Jehovah 

Therefore hear now this, thou afflicted, and drunken, but 
not with wine : Thus saith thy Lord, the Lord, and thy 
God that pleadeth the cause of his people : Behold, I have 
taken out of thine hand the cup of staggering, even the 
bowl of the cup of my fury ; thou shalt no more drink it 
again : and I will put it into the hand of them that afflict 
thee ; which have said to thy soul, Bow down, that we may 
go over : and thou hast laid thy back as the ground, and as 
the street, to them that go over. 

(No response) 

The Celestial Hosts 

Awake, awake, put on thy strength, O Zion ; 
Put on thy beautiful garments, O Jerusalem, the holy 
city : 

For henceforth there shall no more come into thee 
the uncircumcised and the unclean. 

Shake thyself from the dust ; 
Arise, sit thee down, O Jerusalem : 
Loose thyself from the bands of thy neck, O captive 
daughter of Zion. 

169 



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-*8 Isaiah 



Jehovah 

For thus saith the Lord, Ye were sold for nought, and 
ye shall be redeemed without money. For thus saith the 
Lord God, My people went down at the first into Egypt to 
sojourn there : and the Assyrian oppressed them without 
cause. Now therefore, what do I here, saith the Lord, 
seeing that my people is taken away for nought ? They 
that rule over them do howl, saith the Lord, and my name 
continually all the day is blasphemed. Therefore my peo- 
ple shall know my name : therefore they shall know in that 
day that I am he that doth speak : Behold it is I ! 

ii 

The Awakening 

Chorus of Watchmen 

How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him 
That bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace, 
That bringeth good tidings of good, that publisheth 
salvation : 

That saith unto Zion, Thy God reigneth ! 

The voice of thy Watchmen ! they lift up the voice, 

Together do they sing, 

For they shall see, eye to eye, 
How the Lord returneth to Zion. 

170 



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Break forth into joy, sing together, 

Ye waste places of Jerusalem : 
For the Lord hath comforted his people, 

He hath redeemed Jerusalem. 

The Lord hath made bare his holy arm 

In the eyes of all the nations ; 

And all the ends of the earth 
Shall see the salvation of our God. 

Depart ye, depart ye, go ye out from thence, 

Touch no unclean thing ; 
Go ye out of the midst of her ; 

Be ye clean, ye that bear the vessels of the Lord. 

For ye shall not go out in haste, 

Neither shall ye go by flight ; 
For the Lord will go before you, 

And the God of Israel will be your rearward. 
171 



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-*8 Isaiah 



VISION IV 
THE SERVANT OF JEHOVAH EXALTED 
Jehovah 

Behold, my servant shall prosper, he shall be exalted 
and lifted up, and shall be very high. Like as many were 
astonied at thee, (his visage was so marred from that of 
man, and his form from that of the sons of men,) so shall 
he startle many nations ; kings shall shut their mouths at 
him : for that which had not been told them shall they 
see, and that which they had not heard shall they under- 
stand. 



Chorus of Nations 
i 

Who hath believed that which we have heard ? 
And to whom hath the arm of the Lord been re- 
vealed ? 

For he grew up before him as a tender plant, 
And as a root out of a dry ground : 

He hath no form nor comeliness, that we should look 

upon him ; 
Nor beauty that we should desire him. 
172 



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He was despised, and rejected of men ; 

A man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief : 

And as one from whom men hide their face he was 
despised, 

And we esteemed him not. 

2 

Surely he hath borne our griefs, 
And carried our sorrows : 

Yet we did esteem him stricken, 

Smitten of God, and afflicted. 

But he was wounded for our transgressions, 
He was bruised for our iniquities : 

The chastisement of our peace was upon him ; 

And with his stripes we are healed. 

All we like sheep have gone astray ; 

We have turned every one to his own way : 

And the Lord hath laid on him 

The iniquity of us all. 

3 

He was oppressed, 

Yet he humbled himself, 

And opened not his mouth ; 
As a lamb that is led to the slaughter, 
And as a sheep that before her shearers is dumb ; 

Yea, he opened not his mouth. 

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-*8 Isaiah 



By oppression and judgement he was taken away; 
And his life who shall recount ? 

For he was cut off out of the land of the living ; 

For the transgression of my people was he stricken. 

And they made his grave with the wicked, 
And with the rich in his death ; 

Although he had done no violence, 

Neither was any deceit in his mouth. 

4 

Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise him ; 

He hath put him to grief: 

When his soul shall make an offering for sin, 

He shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, 
And the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his 
hand : 

He shall see and be satisfied with the travail of his soul. 

By his knowledge shall my righteous servant make many 

righteous : 
And he shall bear their iniquities. 
Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, 
And he shall divide the spoil with the strong : 

Because he poured out his soul unto death, 

And was numbered with the transgressors : 

Yet he bare the sin of many, 

And maketh intercession for the transgressors. 
174 



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Book VII 



VISION V 
SONGS OF ZION EXALTED 

i 



Zion the Bride of Jehovah 

Sing, O barren, 

Thou that didst not bear ; 
Break forth into singing, and cry aloud, 

Thou that didst not travail with child I 

For more are the children of the desolate than the chil- 
dren of the married wife, saith the Lord. Enlarge the 
place of thy tent, and let them stretch forth the curtains 
of thine habitations ; spare not : lengthen thy cords, and 
strengthen thy stakes. For thou shalt spread abroad on 
the right hand, and on the left ; and thy seed shall possess 
the nations, and make the desolate cities to be inhabited. 

Fear not, for thou shalt not be ashamed, 

Neither be thou confounded, for thou shalt not be 
put to shame : 
For thou shalt forget the shame of thy youth, 

And the reproach of thy widowhood shalt thou 
remember no more. 

i7S 



Book VII 



-*8 Isaiah 



For thy Maker is thine husband ; 

The Lord of hosts is his name : 
And the Holy One of Israel is thy redeemer ; 

The God of the whole earth shall he be called. 

For the Lord hath called thee as a wife forsaken and 
grieved in spirit, even a wife of youth, when she is cast 
off, saith thy God. 

For a small moment have I forsaken thee ; 

But with great mercies will I gather thee. 
In a little wrath I hid my face from thee for a moment : 

But with everlasting kindness will I have mercy on 
thee: 

saith the Lord, thy redeemer. For this is as the waters 
of Noah unto me : for as I have sworn that the waters of 
Noah should no more go over the earth, so have I sworn 
that I would not be wroth with thee, nor rebuke thee. 

For the mountains shall depart, 

And the hills be removed ; 
But my kindness shall not depart from thee, 

Neither shall my covenant of peace be removed ; 



saith the Lord that hath mercy on thee. 

176 



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• •» 
11 

Zion the City of Beauty and Peace 

O thou afflicted, tossed with tempest, and not com- 
forted, 

Behold, I will set thy stones in fair colours, 
And lay thy foundations with sapphires. 

And I will make thy pinnacles of rubies, 

And thy gates of carbuncles, 

And all thy border of pleasant stones. 

And all thy children shall be taught of the Lord ; 
And great shall be the peace of thy children : 
In righteousness shalt thou be established. 

Thou shalt be far from oppression, for thou shalt not 
fear; 

And from terror, for it shall not come near thee : 
Behold, they may stir up strife, but not by me ; 

Whosoever shall stir up strife against thee shall fall 
because of thee. 

Behold, I have created the smith 
That bloweth the fire of coals, 
And bringeth forth a weapon for its work ; 

And I have created the waster to destroy : 
n i 77 



Book VII 



-*8 Isaiah 



No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper ; 
And every tongue that shall rise against thee in 
judgement thou shalt condemn. 
This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, 

And their righteousness which is of me, saith the 
Lord. 

iii 

Zion the Witness to the Nations 

Zion (to the Nations) 

i Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, 
6 And he that hath no money, come ye, buy and eat ; 

6 Yea, come, buy wine and milk, 

'Without money and without price. 

'Wherefore do ye spend money for that which is not 
bread ? 

' And your labour for that which satisfieth not ? 
i Hearken diligently unto me, and eat ye that which is 
good, 

6 And let your soul delight itself in fatness. 

1 Incline your ear, and come unto me ; 

' Hear, and your soul shall live : 
' And I will make an everlasting covenant with you, 

' Even the sure mercies of David. 1 
178 

I 



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Book VII 



Behold, I have given him for a witness to the peoples, 
and a leader and commander to the peoples. Behold, thou 
shalt call a nation that thou knowest not, and a nation that 
knew not thee shall run unto thee, because of the Lord 
thy God, and for the Holy One of Israel ; for he hath 
glorified thee. 

6 Seek ye the Lord while he may be found, 

6 Call ye upon him while he is near : 
' Let the wicked forsake his way, 

' And the unrighteous man his thoughts : 

1 And let him return unto the Lord, 

* And he will have mercy upon him ; 
* And to our God, 

6 For he will abundantly pardon.' 

For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your 
ways my ways, saith the Lord. For as the heavens are 
higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your 
ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts. For as the 
rain cometh down and the snow from heaven, and return- 
eth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring 
forth and bud, and giveth seed to the sower and bread to 
the eater ; so shall my word be that goeth forth out of my 
mouth : it shall not return unto me void, but it shall ac- 
complish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the 
thing whereto I sent it. 

179 



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-*8 Isaiah 



( For ye shall go out with joy, 

6 And be led forth with peace : 
< The mountains and the hills shall break forth before 
you into singing, 

6 And all the trees of the field shall clap their hands. 

' Instead of the thorn shall come up the fir tree, 

6 And instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle 
tree : 

6 And it shall be to the Lord for a name, 

' For an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off.' 
180 



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Book VII 



VISION VI 
REDEMPTION AT WORK IN ZION 

Introduction 

Thus saith the Lord, Keep ye judgement, and do right- 
eousness : for my salvation is near to come, and my right- 
eousness to be revealed. Blessed is the man that doeth 
this, and the son of man that holdeth fast by it; that 
keepeth the sabbath from profaning it, and keepeth his 
hand from doing any evil. Neither let the stranger, that 
hath joined himself to the Lord, speak, saying, The Lord 
will surely separate me from his people : neither let the 
eunuch say, Behold, I am a dry tree. For thus saith the 
Lord of the eunuchs that keep my sabbaths, and choose 
the things that please me, and hold fast by my covenant : 
Unto them will I give in mine house and within my walls 
a memorial and a name better than of sons and of daugh- 
ters ; I will give them an everlasting name, that shall not 
be cut off. Also the strangers, that join themselves to the 
Lord, to minister unto him, and to love the name of the 
Lord, to be his servants, every one that keepeth the sab- 
bath from profaning it, and holdeth fast by my covenant ; 
even them will I bring to my holy mountain, and make 
them joyful in my house of prayer ; their burnt offerings 

181 



Book VII 



-*8 Isaiah 



and their sacrifices shall be accepted upon mine altar : for 
mine house shall be called an house of prayer for all peo- 
ples. The Lord God which gathereth the outcasts of 
Israel saith, Yet will I gather others to him, beside his 
own that are gathered. 

i 

Struggle with Sin and Error 

A Cry 

All ye beasts of the field, 

Come to devour, 
Yea, all ye beasts in the forest. 

The Prophetic Spectator 

His watchmen are blind, they are all without knowledge ; 
they are all dumb dogs, they cannot bark ; dreaming, lying 
down, loving to slumber. Yea, the dogs are greedy, they 
can never have enough ; and these are shepherds that can- 
not understand : they have all turned to their own way, 
each one to his gain, from every quarter. 6 Come ye, I 
will fetch wine, and we will fill ourselves with strong 
drink; and tomorrow shall be as this day, a day great 
beyond measure/ The righteous perisheth, and no man 

182 



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layeth it to heart ; and merciful men are taken away, none 
considering that the righteous is taken away through 
wickedness. 

Voice of Prophecy 

He entereth into peace ; they rest in their beds, each 
one that walketh in his uprightness. But draw near hither, 
ye sons of the sorceress, the seed of the adulterer and the 
whore. Against whom do ye sport yourselves? against 
whom make ye a wide mouth, and draw out the tongue ? 
are ye not children of transgression, a seed of falsehood, 
ye that inflame yourselves among the oaks, under every 
green tree ; that slay the children in the valleys, under the 
clefts of the rocks? Among the smooth stones of the 
valley is thy portion ; they, they are thy lot : even to them 
hast thou poured a drink offering, thou hast offered an 
oblation. Shall I be appeased for these things ? Upon a 
high and lofty mountain hast thou set thy bed : thither 
also wentest thou up to offer sacrifice. And behind the 
doors and the posts hast thou set up thy memorial : for 
thou hast discovered thyself to another than me, and art 
gone up ; thou hast enlarged thy bed, and made thee a 
covenant with them ; thou lovedst their bed where thou 
sawest it. And thou wentest to the king with ointment, 
and didst increase thy perfumes, and didst send thine 
ambassadors far off, and didst debase thyself even unto 
hell. Thou wast wearied with the length of thy way ; yet 

183 



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-^3 Isaiah 



saidst thou not. There is no hope : thou didst find a quick- 
ening of thy strength ; therefore thou wast not faint. And 
of whom hast thou been afraid and in fear, that thou liest, 
and hast not remembered me, nor laid it to thy heart? 
have not I held my peace even of long time, and thou 
fearest me not? I will declare thy righteousness ; and as 
for thy works, they shall not profit thee. When thou 
criest, let thy rabble of idols deliver thee ; but the wind 
shall take them, a breath shall earn- them all away : but 
he that putteth His trust in me shall possess the land, and 
shall inherit my holy mountain. 

Jehovah 

Cast ye up, cast ye up, 

Prepare the way, 
Take up the stumblingblock 

Out of the way of my people. 

Voice of Prophecy 

For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth 
eternity, whose name is Holy : I dwell in the high and 
holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble 
spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the 
heart of the contrite ones. For I will not contend for ever, 
neither will I be always wroth : for the spirit should fail 

184 



Zion Redeemed 8<~ 



Book VII 



before me, and the souls which I have made. For the 
iniquity of his covetousness was I wroth and smote him, 
I hid my face and was wroth : and he went on frowardly 
in the way of his heart. I have seen his ways, and will 
heal him : I will lead him also, and restore comforts unto 
him and to his mourners. I create the fruit of the lips: 
Peace, peace, to him that is far off and to him that is near, 
saith the Lord ; and I will heal him. But the wicked are 
like the troubled sea ; for it cannot rest, and its waters 
cast up mire and dirt. There is no peace, saith my God, 
to the wicked. 

Jehovah 

Cry aloud, spare not, 

Lift up thy voice like a trumpet, 
And declare unto my people their transgression, 

And to the house of Jacob their sins. 

Voice of Prophecy 

Yet they seek me daily, and delight to know my ways : 
as a nation that did righteousness, and forsook not the 
ordinance of their God, they ask of me righteous ordi- 
nances, they delight to draw near unto God. Wherefore 
have we fasted, say they, and thou seest not? wherefore 
have we afflicted our soul, and thou takest no knowledge? 
Behold, in the day of your fast ye find your own pleasure, 

185 



Book VII 



Isaiah 



and exact all your labours. Behold, ye fast for strife and 
contention, and to smite with the fist of wickedness : ye 
fast not this day so as to make your voice to be heard on 
high. Is such the fast that I have chosen? the day for a 
man to afflict his soul? Is it to bow down his head as 
a rush, and to spread sackcloth and ashes under him ? wilt 
thou call this a fast, and an acceptable day to the Lord? 
Is not this the fast that I have chosen : to loose the bonds 
of wickedness, to undo the bands of the yoke, and to let 
the oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke ? Is 
it not to deal thy bread to the hungry, and that thou bring 
the poor that are cast out to thy house? when thou seest 
the naked, that thou cover him ; and that thou hide not 
thyself from thine own flesh ? Then shall thy light break 
forth as the morning, and thy healing shall spring forth 
speedily : and thy righteousness shall go before thee ; the 
glory of the Lord shall be thy rearward. Then shalt thou 
call, and the Lord shall answer ; thou shalt cry, and he 
shall say, Here I am. If thou take away from the midst 
of thee the yoke, the putting forth of the linger, and speak- 
ing wickedly ; and if thou draw out thy soul to the hungry, 
and satisfy the afflicted soul ; then shall thy light rise in 
darkness, and thine obscurity be as the noonday : and the 
Lord shall guide thee continually, and satisfy thy soul in 
dry places, and make strong thy bones ; and thou shalt be 
like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose 
waters fail not. And they that shall be of thee shall build 

186 



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Book VII 



the old waste places : thou shalt raise up the foundations 
of many generations ; and thou shalt be called The re- 
pairer of the breach, The restorer of paths to dwell in. If 
thou turn away thy foot from the sabbath, from doing thy 
pleasure on my holy day ; and call the sabbath a delight, 
and the holy of the Lord honourable ; and shalt honour 
it, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleas- 
ure, nor speaking thine own words : then shalt thou delight 
thyself in the Lord ; and I will make thee to ride upon the 
high places of the earth ; and I will feed thee with the heri- 
tage of Jacob thy father : for the mouth of the Lord hath 
spoken it. 

ii 

Israel Rousing to Repentance 

Voice of Prophecy 

Behold, the Lord's hand is not shortened, that it can- 
not save ; neither his ear heavy, that it cannot hear : but 
your iniquities have separated between you and your God, 
and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not 
hear. For your hands are defiled with blood, and your 
fingers with iniquity ; your lips have spoken lies, your 
tongue muttereth wickedness. None sueth in righteous- 
ness, and none pleadeth in truth : they trust in vanity, and 
speak lies ; they conceive mischief, and bring forth ini- 

187 



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-»8 Isaiah 



quity. They hatch basilisks' eggs, and weave the spider's 
web : he that eateth of their eggs dieth, and that which is 
crushed breaketh out into a viper. Their webs shall not 
become garments, neither shall they cover themselves with 
their woiks : their works are works of iniquity, and the act 
of violence is in their hands. Their feet run to evil, and 
they make haste to shed innocent blood : their thoughts 
are thoughts of iniquity ; desolation and destruction are in 
their paths. The way of peace they know not; and there 
is no judgement in their goings : they have made them 
crooked paths ; whosoever goeth therein doth not know 
peace. 

Repentant Israel 

Therefore is judgement far from us, neither doth right- 
eousness overtake us : we look for light, but behold dark- 
ness ; for brightness, but we walk in obscurity. We grope 
for the wall like the blind, yea, we grope as they that have 
no eyes : we stumble at noonday as in the twilight ; among 
them that are lusty we are as dead men. We roar all like 
bears, and mourn sore like doves : we look for judgement, 
but there is none : for salvation, but it is far off from us. 
For our transgressions are multiplied before thee, and our 
sins testify against us : for our transgressions are with us, 
and as for our iniquities, we know them : in transgressing 
and denying the Lord, and turning away from following 
our God, speaking oppression and revolt, conceiving and 

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uttering from the heart words of falsehood. And judge- 
ment is turned away backward, and righteousness standeth 
afar off : for truth is fallen in the street, and uprightness 
cannot enter. Yea, truth is lacking ; and he that departeth 
from evil maketh himself a prey. 



iii 

Redemption begun 

And the Lord saw it, and it displeased him that 
there was no judgement . And he saw that there was 
no man, and wondered that there was no intercessor : 
therefore his own arm brought salvation unto him ; 
and his righteousness, it upheld him. And he put on 
righteousness as a breastplate, and an helmet of salva- 
tion upon his head; and he put on garments of ven- 
geance for clothing, and was clad with zeal as a cloke. 

Jehovah 

According to their deeds, accordingly he will repay, 
fury to his adversaries, recompence to his enemies ; to 
the islands he will repay recompence. So shall they fear 
the name of the Lord from the west, and his glory from 
the rising of the sun : for he shall come as a rushing 

189 



Book VII 



-*8 Isaiah 



stream, which the breath of the Lord driveth. And a 
redeemer shall come to Zion, and unto them that turn from 
transgression in Jacob, saith the Lord. And as for me, 
this is my covenant with them, saith the Lord : my 
spirit that is upon thee, and my words which I have put in 
thy mouth, shall not depart out of thy mouth, nor out of 
the mouth of thy seed, nor out of the mouth of thy seed's 
seed, saith the Lord, from henceforth and for ever. 



iv 

Song of Zion Redeemed 
i 

Arise, shine ; for thy light is come, 

And the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee. 

For behold, darkness shall cover the earth, 
And gross darkness the peoples : 

But the Lord shall arise upon thee, 

And his glory shall be seen upon thee. 



2 

And nations shall come to thy light, 
And kings to the brightness of thy rising. 

190 



Zion Redeemed 8e- Book VII 

Lift up thine eyes round about, and see : 

They all gather themselves together, they come to 
thee : 

Thy sons shall come from far, 

And thy daughters shall be carried in the arms. 

Then thou shalt see and be lightened, 

And thine heart shall tremble and be enlarged ; 
Because the abundance of the sea shall be turned unto 
thee, 

The wealth of the nations shall come unto thee. 

The multitude of camels shall cover thee, 
The dromedaries of Midian and Ephah ; 

They all shall come from Sheba, they shall bring gold 
and frankincense, 
And shall proclaim the praises of the Lord. 

All the flocks of Kedar shall be gathered together unto 
thee, 

The rams of Nebaioth shall minister unto thee ; 
They shall come up with acceptance on mine altar, 
And I will beautify the house of my glory. 

3 

Who are these that fly as a cloud, 
And as the doves to their windows ? 

191 



Book VII -*8 Isaiah 



Surely the isles shall wait for me, 

And the ships of Tarshish first, 
To bring thy sons from far, 

Their silver and their gold with them, 
For the name of the Lord thy God, 

And for the Holy One of Israel, because he hath 
glorified thee. 

And strangers shall build up thy walls, 

And their kings shall minister unto thee : 
For in my wrath I smote thee, 

But in my favour have I had mercy on thee. 

Thy gates also shall be open continually, 
They shall not be shut day nor night ; 
That men may bring unto thee the wealth of the 
nations, 

And their kings led with them : 
For that nation and kingdom that will not serve thee 
shall perish ; 
Yea, those nations shall be utterly wasted. 

The glory of Lebanon shall come unto thee, 

The fir tree, the pine, and the box tree together ; 

To beautify the place of my sanctuary, 

And I will make the place of my feet glorious. 
192 

1 



Zion Redeemed 8*- 



Book VII 



And the sons of them that afflicted thee 

Shall come bending unto thee ; 
And all they that despised thee 

Shall bow themselves down at the soles of thy feet. 

4 

And they shall call thee the City of the Lord, 
The Zion of the Holy One of Israel. 

Whereas thou hast been forsaken and hated, 

So that no man passed through thee, 
I will make thee an eternal excellency, 

A joy of many generations. 

Thou shalt also suck the milk of the nations, 

And shalt suck the breast of kings : 
And thou shalt know that I the Lord am thy saviour, 

And thy redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob. 

For brass I will bring gold, 

And for iron I will bring silver, 
And for wood brass, 

And for stones iron. 



I will also make thy officers peace, 
And thine exactors righteousness ; 
o 193 



Book VII 



-*8 Isaiah 



Violence shall no more be heard in thy land, 

Desolation nor destruction within thy borders ; 

But thou shalt call thy walls Salvation, 
And thy gates Praise. 

5 

The sun shall be no more thy light by day, 
Neither for brightness shall the moon give light unto 
thee : 

But the Lord shall be unto thee an everlasting light, 
And thy God thy glory. 

Thy sun shall no more go down, 
Neither shall thy moon withdraw itself: 
For the Lord shall be thine everlasting light, 
And the days of thy mourning shall be ended. 

Thy people also shall be all righteous, 
They shall inherit the land for ever ; 
The branch of my planting, 
The work of my hands, 

That I may be glorified. 
The little one shall become a thousand, 
And the small one a strong nation : 

I the Lord will hasten it in its time. 
194 



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V 

The Redeemer Come to Zion 

The Redeemer 

The spirit of the Lord God is upon me ; because the 
Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the 
meek ; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to 
proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the 
prison to them that are bound ; to proclaim the acceptable 
year of the Lord, and the day of vengeance of our God ; 
to comfort all that mourn ; to appoint unto them that mourn 
in Zion, to give unto them a garland for ashes, the oil of 
joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of 
heaviness ; that they might be called trees of righteousness, 
the planting of the Lord, that he might be glorified. 

The Redeemer (to Zion) 

And they shall build the old wastes, they shall raise up 
the former desolations, and they shall repair the waste 
cities, the desolations of many generations. And stran- 
gers shall stand and feed your flocks, and aliens shall be 
your plowmen and your vinedressers. But ye shall be 
named the priests of the Lord : men shall call you the 
ministers of our God : ye shall eat the wealth of the na- 

i95 



Book VII 



Isaiah 



tions, and in their glory shall ye boast yourselves. For 
your shame ye shall have double ; and for confusion they 
shall rejoice in their portion : therefore in their land they 
shall possess double : everlasting joy shall be unto them. 
For I the Lord love judgement, I hate robber}- with ini- 
quity : and I will give them their recompence in truth, and 
I will make an everlasting covenant with them. And their 
seed shall be known among the nations, and their offspring 
among the peoples : all that see them shall acknowledge 
them, that they are the seed which the Lord hath blessed. 

ZlON 

I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, my soul shall be joyful 
in my God ; for he hath clothed me with the garments of 
salvation, he hath covered me with the robe of righteous- 
ness, as a bridegroom decketh himself with a garland, and 
as a bride adorneth herself with her jewels. For as the 
earth bringeth forth her bud, and as the garden causeth 
the things that are sown in it to spring forth ; so the Lord 
God will cause righteousness and praise to spring forth 
before all the nations. 

The Redeemer 

For Zion's sake will I not hold my peace, and for Jeru- 
salem's sake I will not rest, until her righteousness go forth 

196 



Zion Redeemed 8«- 



Book VII 



as brightness, and her salvation as a lamp that burnetii. 
And the nations shall see thy righteousness, and all kings 
thy glory : and thou shalt be called by a new name, which 
the mouth of the Lord shall name. Thou shalt also be 
a crown of beauty in the hand of the Lord, and a royal 
diadem in the hand of thy God. Thou shalt no more 
be termed Forsaken ; neither shall thy land any more be 
termed Desolate : but thou shalt be called Hephzi-bah, and 
thy land 6 Beulah : ' for the Lord 6 delighteth' in thee, and thy 
land shall be ' married. 1 For as a young man marrieth a 
virgin, so shall thy sons marry thee : and as the bridegroom 
rejoiceth over the bride, so shall thy God rejoice over thee. 



The Redeemer (to the Watchmen) 

I have set watchmen upon thy walls, O Jerusalem ; they 
shall never hold their peace day nor night : ye that are 
the Lord's remembrancers, take ye no rest, and give him 
no rest, till he establish, and till he make Jerusalem a 
praise in the earth. The Lord hath sworn by his right 
hand, and by the arm of his strength : Surely I will no 
more give thy corn to be meat for thine enemies ; and 
strangers shall not drink thy wine, for the which thou hast 
laboured : but they that have garnered it shall eat it, and 
praise the Lord; and they that have gathered it shall 
drink it in the courts of my sanctuary. 



197 



Book VII 



-*8 Isaiah 



Chorus of Watchmen 

Go through, go through the gates ; 

Prepare ye the way of the people ; 
Cast up, cast up the highway ; gather out the stones ; 

Lift up an ensign for the peoples. 

Behold, the Lord hath proclaimed unto the end of the 
earth, 

Say ye to the daughter of Zion, 

Behold, thy salvation cometh ; 
Behold, his reward is with him, 

And his recompence before him. 

And they shall call them The holy people, 

The redeemed of the Lord : 
And thou shalt be called Sought out, 

A city not forsaken. 

198 



Zion Redeemed 8*- 



Book VII 



VISION VII 

THE DAY OF JUDGMENT 

i 

Judgment on the Nations 
Chorus of Watchmen 

Who is this that cometh from Edom, 

With crimsoned garments from Bozrah ? 
This that is glorious in his apparel, 

Marching in the greatness of his strength ? 

He who COMETH 

I that speak in righteousness, 
Mighty to save. 

Chorus of Watchmen 

Wherefore art thou red 

In thine apparel, 

And thy garments 
Like him that treadeth in the winefat ? 

199 



Book VII 



-*8 Isaiah 



He WHO COMETH 

I have trodden the winepress alone ; 
And of the peoples there was no man with me : 
Yea, I trod them in mine anger, 
And trampled them in my fury ; 
^ And their lifeblood is sprinkled upon my garments. 
And I have stained all my raiment. 

For the day of vengeance was in mine heart, 
And the year of my redeemed is come. 
And I looked, and there was none to help ; 
And I wondered that there was none to uphold : 

Therefore mine own arm brought salvation unto me ; 

And my fury, it upheld me. 

And I trod down the peoples in mine anger, 

And made them drunk in my fury, 

And I poured out their lifeblood on the earth. 

ii 

Judgment in Zion 
Repentant Israel 

I will make mention of the lovingkindnesses of the 
Lord, and the praises of the Lord, according to all that 

200 



Zion Redeemed 8«- 



Book VII 



the Lord hath bestowed on us ; and the great goodness 
toward the house of Israel, which he hath bestowed on 
them according to his mercies, and according to the mul- 
titude of his lovingkindnesses. For he said, Surely, they 
are my people, children that will not deal falsely : so he 
was their saviour. In all their affliction he was afflicted, 
and the angel of his presence saved them : in his love and 
in his pity he redeemed them ; and he bare them, and car- 
ried them all the days of old. But they rebelled, and grieved 
his holy spirit : therefore he was turned to be their enemy, 
and himself fought against them. Then his people re- 
membered the ancient days of Moses : ' Where is he 
that brought them up out of the sea with the shepherds 
of his flock ? where is he that put his holy spirit in the 
midst of them ? that caused his glorious arm to go at the 
right hand of Moses ? that divided the water before them, 
to make himself an everlasting name ? that led them through 
the depths, as an horse in the wilderness, that they stum- 
bled not ? As the cattle that go down into the valley, the 
spirit of the Lord caused them to rest : so didst thou lead 
thy people, to make thyself a glorious name. 1 

Look down from heaven, and behold from the habitation 
of thy holiness and of thy glory : where is thy zeal and thy 
mighty acts? the yearning of thy bowels and thy compas- 
sions are restrained toward me. For thou art our father, 
though Abraham knoweth us not, and Israel doth not 
acknowledge us : thou, O Lord, art our father ; our re- 

20 1 



Book VII 



-*B Isaiah 



deemer from everlasting is thy name. O Lord, why dost 
thou make us to err from thy ways, and hardenest our 
heart from thy fear? Return for thy servants 1 sake, the 
tribes of thine inheritance. Thy holy people possessed it 
but a little while : our adversaries have trodden down thy 
sanctuary. We are become as they over whom thou never 
barest rule ; as they that were not called by thy name. Oh 
that thou wouldest rend the heavens, that thou wouldest 
come down, that the mountains might flow down at thy 
presence ; as when fire kindleth the brushwood, and the 
fire causeth the waters to boil : to make thy name known 
to thine adversaries, that the nations may tremble at thy 
presence ! When thou didst terrible things which we 
looked not for, thou earnest down, the mountains flowed 
down at thy presence. For from of old men have not 
heard, nor perceived by the ear, neither hath the eye seen 
a God beside thee, which worketh for him that waiteth for 
him. Thou meetest him that rejoiceth and worketh right- 
eousness, those that remember thee in thy ways : behold, 
thou wast wroth, and we sinned : in them have we been of 
long time, and shall we be saved ? For we are all become 
as one that is unclean, and all our righteousnesses are as a 
polluted garment : and we all do fade as a leaf ; and our 
iniquities, like the wind, take us away. And there is none 
that calleth upon thy name, that stirreth up himself to take 
hold of thee : for thou hast hid thy face from us, and hast 
consumed us by means of our iniquities. But now, O 

202 



Zion Redeemed B«- 



Book VII 



Lord, thou art our father ; we are the clay, and thou our 
potter; and we all are the work of thy hand. Be not 
wroth very sore, O Lord, neither remember iniquity for 
ever : behold, look, we beseech thee, we are all thy people. 
Thy holy cities are become a wilderness, Zion is become 
a wilderness, Jerusalem a desolation. Our holy and our 
beautiful house, where our fathers praised thee, is burned 
with fire ; and all our pleasant things are laid waste. Wilt 
thou refrain thyself for these things, O Lord? wilt thou 
hold thy peace, and afflict us very sore ? 



JEHOVAH IN JUDGMENT 

I am inquired of by them that asked not for me ; I am 
found of them that sought me not: I said, Behold me, 
behold me, unto a nation that was not called j udgment 
by my name. I have spread out my hands all 
the day unto a rebellious people, which walketh in a way 
that is not good, after their own thoughts ; a people that 
provoketh me to my face continually, sacrificing in gar- 
dens, and burning incense upon bricks ; which sit among 
the graves, and lodge in the secret places ; which eat swine's 
flesh, and broth of abominable things is in their vessels ; 
which say, Stand by thyself, come not near to me, for I am 
holier than thou : these are a smoke in my nose, a fire that 
burneth all the day. Behold, it is written before me : I will 

203 



Book VII 



Isaiah 



not keep silence, but will recompense, yea, I will recompense 
into their bosom, your own iniquities, and the iniquities of 
your fathers together, saith the Lord, which have burned 
incense upon the mountains, and blasphemed me upon 
the hills : therefore will I first measure their work into 
their bosom. 

Thus saith the Lord, As the new wine is found in the 

cluster, and one saith, Destroy it not, for a blessing is in 

„ . - it : so will I do for my servants' sakes, that 

Salvation 

I may not destroy them all. And I will 
bring forth a seed out of Jacob, and out of Judah an 
inheritor of my mountains : and my chosen shall inherit 
it, and my servants shall dwell there. And Sharon 
shall be a fold of flocks, and the valley of Achor a 
place for herds to lie down in, for my people that have 
sought me. 

But ye that forsake the Lord, that forget my holy 

mountain, that prepare a table for Fortune, and that fill 

up mingled wine unto Destiny : I will destine 
Judgment r & j 

you to the sword, and ye shall all bow down 

to the slaughter : because when I called, ye did not 

answer ; when I spake, ye did not hear ; but ye did 

that which was evil in mine eyes, and chose that wherein 

I delighted not. Therefore thus saith the Lord God, 

Behold, my servants shall eat, but ye shall be hungry : 

behold, my servants shall drink, but ye shall be thirsty : 

behold, my servants shall rejoice, but ye shall be ashamed : 

204 



Zion Redeemed 8«- 



Book VII 



behold, my servants shall sing for joy of heart, but ye 

shall cry for sorrow of heart, and shall howl for vexation 

of spirit. And ye shall leave your name for a curse unto 

my chosen, and the Lord God shall slay thee. 

And he shall call his servants by another name : so 

that he who blesseth himself in the earth shall bless 

himself in the God of truth ; and he that „ , # 

, . ' i , r, i Salvation 

sweareth in the earth shall swear* by the God 

of truth ; because the former troubles are forgotten, and 
because they are hid from mine eyes. For, behold, I 
create new heavens and a new earth : and the former 
things shall not be remembered, nor come into mind. 
But be ye glad and rejoice for ever in that which I cre- 
ate : for, behold, I create Jerusalem a rejoicing, and her 
people a joy. And I will rejoice in Jerusalem, and joy in 
my people : and the voice of weeping shall be no more 
heard in her, nor the voice of crying. There shall be no 
more thence an infant of days, nor an old man that hath 
not filled his days : for the child shall die an hundred years 
old, and the sinner being an hundred years old shall be 
accursed. And they shall build houses, and inhabit them ; 
and they shall plant vineyards, and eat the fruit of them. 
They shall not build, and another inhabit ; they shall not 
plant, and another eat : for as the days of a tree shall be 
the days of my people, and my chosen shall long enjoy 
the work of their hands. They shall not labour in vain, 
nor bring forth for calamity ; for they are the seed of the 

cor 



Book VII 



-*8 Isaiah 



blessed of the Lord, and their offspring with them. And 

it shall come to pass that, before they call, I will answer ; 

and while they are yet speaking, I will hear. The wolf 

and the lamb shall feed together, and the lion shall eat 

straw like the ox : and dust shall be the serpent's meat. 

They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain, 

saith the Lord. Thus saith the Lord, The heaven is my 

throne, and the earth is my footstool ; what manner of 

house will ye build unto me ? and what place shall be my 

rest? For all these things hath mine hand made, and so 

all these things came to be, saith the Lord : but to this 

man will I look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite 

spirit, and that trembleth at my word. 

He that killeth an ox is as he that slayeth a man; he 

that sacrificeth a lamb, as he that breaketh a dog's neck ; 

, a he that offereth an oblation, as he that offereth 

Judgment 

swine's blood ; he that burneth frankincense, as 
he that blesseth an idol : yea, they have chosen their own 
ways, and their soul delighteth in their abominations ; I also 
will choose their delusions, and will bring their fears upon 
them ; because when I called, none did answer ; when I 
spake, they did not hear : but they did that which was evil 
in mine eyes, and chose that wherein I delighted not. Hear 
the word of the Lord, ye that tremble at his word : Your 
brethren that hate you, that cast you out for my name's 
sake, have said, Let the Lord be glorified, that we may 
see your joy ; but they shall be ashamed. 

206 



Zion Redeemed 8«- 



Book VII 



Confused Cries 

A voice of tumult from the city ! 
A voice from the temple ! 
A voice of the Lord that render eth recompence to his 
enemies ! 



Voices of the Saved 

Before she travailed, she brought forth ; 

Before her pain came, she was delivered of a 
man child! 
Who hath heard such a thing? 

Who hath seen such things ? 

Shall a land be born in one day ? 

Shall a nation be brought forth at once? 
For as soon as Zion travailed, 

She brought forth her children I 



JEHOVAH 

Shall I bring to the birth, and not cause to bring forth ? 
saith the Lord : shall I that cause to bring forth shut the 
womb? saith thy God. Rejoice ye with Jeru- o alvation 
salem, and be glad for her, all ye that love her : 
rejoice for joy with her, all ye that mourn over her : that 
ye may suck and be satisfied with the breasts of her conso- 

207 



Book VII 



-»5 Isaiah 



lations ; that ye may milk out, and be delighted with the 

abundance of her glory. For thus saith the Lord, Behold, 

I will extend peace to her like a river, and the glory of the 

nations like an overflowing stream, and ye shall suck thereof ; 

ye shall be borne upon the side, and shall be dandled upon 

the knees. As one whom his mother comforteth, so will 

I comfort you ; and ye shall be comforted in Jerusalem. 

And ye shall see it, and your heart shall rejoice, and your 

bones shall flourish like the tender grass : and the hand of 

the Lord shall be known toward his servants. 

And he will have indignation against his enemies. For, 

behold, the Lord will come with fire, and his chariots 

shall be like the whirlwind : to render his anger 
Judgment . . 

with fury, and his rebuke with flames of fire. 

For by fire will the Lord plead, and by his sword, with all 

flesh : and the slain of the Lord shall be many. They that 

sanctify themselves and purify themselves to go unto the 

gardens, behind one in the midst, eating swine's flesh, and 

the abomination, and the mouse ; they shall come to an 

end together, saith the Lord. For I know their works 

and their thoughts. 

I come to gather all nations and tongues ; and they shall 

come, and shall see my glory. And I will set a sign among 

them, and I will send such as escape of them 

Salvation 

unto the nations, to Tarshish, Pui and Lud, that 
draw the bow, to Tubal and Javan, to the isles afar off, that 
have not heard my fame, neither have seen my glory ; and 

208 



Zion Redeemed 



Book VII 



they shall declare my glory among the nations. And they 
shall bring all your brethren out of all the nations for an of- 
fering unto the Lord, upon horses, and in chariots, and in 
litters, and upon mules, and upon swift beasts, to my holy 
mountain Jerusalem, saith the Lord, as the children of 
Israel bring their offering in a clean vessel into the house 
of the Lord. And of them also will I take for priests and 
for Levites, saith the Lord. For as the new heavens and 
the new earth, which I will make, shall remain before me, 
saith the Lord, so shall your seed and your name remain. 
And it shall come to pass, that from one new moon to 
another, and from one sabbath to another, shall all flesh 
come to worship before me, saith the Lord. 

And they shall go forth, and look upon the carcases 
of the men that have transgressed against me : j udgment 
for their worm shall not die, neither shall their 
fire be quenched ; and they shall be an abhorring unto all 
flesh. 

p 209 



Notes 



The Parenthetic Preface 



A notable feature of the prophetic style is what may be 
termed the Parenthetic Preface : that is, the tendency to place 
what is prefatory in character, not before, but after, or in the 
middle of that which it prefaces. 

The most interesting example is II. iii. The prophecy is as a 
whole a highly realistic vision of peoples combining against 
Judah but brought to confusion. The vision is interrupted in 
the middle by the Divine commission to the prophet, command- 
ing him to lay before the panic-stricken of Judah a Divine Maw 
and testimony ' to which they should seek instead of consulting 
familiar spirits and wizards. The interest of this example is 
that this parenthetic commission is itself interrupted in the 
middle by the prophet's acceptance of it : he and his children 
[to whom he has given significant names, Shear-jashub and 
Maher-shalal-hash-baz] are living signs in Israel. This preface 
within a preface makes the whole prophecy suggestive of an 
algebraic expression with double brackets : 

Proud foes [A word (Prophet accepts) for the timid] overthrown 

Similar examples occur often. It is significant that the origi- 
nal call of Isaiah to his ministry is placed at the end of Book 
I. In the second Vision of Zion Redeemed the soliloquy of 
Jehovah's Servant on his mission occurs between his ministry to 
Israel and his ministry to the Nations. In V. i the course of 

213 



-*8 Isaiah 



the prophecy is interrupted by answers to those who attack the 
whole ministry of Isaiah : there is a similar interruption to the 
series of visions of Amos (chapter vii. 10). The prophecy 
against trust in Egypt (V. iii) is interrupted by an oracle 
against Egypt. The companion pictures of destruction and 
restoration which make up V. vii are each interrupted by prefa- 
tory verses emphasising the importance of the prophecy. In 
the third Vision of Zion Redeemed the song of the Watchmen 
begins before the announcement of the singers : The voice of 
thy Watchmen, etc. And in the fifth Vision (pages 178, 179) 
Zion is heard issuing its invitation before the words of God 
which proclaim Zion a witness to the Nations. 

There is an extension of the same principle when we find 
passages conveying realistically a supernatural vision before we 
have the words that introduce the idea of a seer in the position 
to behold the vision. The effect is not unlike that of classical 
poetry which made it a law to plunge in medias res, and leave 
the commencement of the story to be afterwards brought out 
indirectly. The prophecies of the Watchman are a clear ex- 
ample (see IV. x) : another is the Doom of Ethiopia (IV. vii). 

Verse and Prose in Prophetic Literature 

As I have departed from the usually accepted notions of 
verse and prose in prophetic writings, I desire to make clear 
the principle on which I have acted.* 

* On the whole subject compare the Ecclesiasticus volume, pages vii-xi; 
and my Literary Study of the Bible, pages 112-124. 

214 



Notes 8«- 



Verse in Hebrew depends, to speak generally, not on such 
mechanical devices as rhyme and syllabic number or quantity, 
but upon the parallelism of clauses. But such parallelism of 
clauses is a regular device of rhetoric prose; and it may be 
safely asserted that there is no degree of sentence parallelism in 
the most sonnet-like biblical verse which may not be equalled 
by artificial prose style. In such a language it is inevitable that 
prose and verse must overlap, and that there should be a com- 
pound style partaking of the nature of both. 

This much is generally recognised. But it is the custom of 
many editors to use the devices of separated and indented lines 
wherever there is parallelism of clauses. Others will print the 
whole of this compound style as prose. I have preferred to 
use the customary outer forms of verse and prose in order to 
discriminate what needs discriminating, although the things so 
separated may not be precisely ' verse ' or * prose.' 

The arrangement must be judged by its results in assisting the 
reader to catch the literary effect of what he reads. But I 
may at the outset illustrate the sort of discriminations which 
I have attempted. An important case may be illustrated by the 
Doom prophecy on Babylon (IV. i). Here, as in many similar 
cases, we have a Divine word of denunciation and threatening 
[here presented as prose], interrupted at intervals by what seem 
to be songs of exclamation, or celebration of what the Divine 
word conveys. The * prose 1 passages make a complete dis- 
course of denunciation; the ' verse ' passages constitutute highly 
artistic interruptions and emphasis. In the Doom of Moab 
(IV. iv) the order is reversed : we have a highly rhythmic wail 

215 



Isaiah 



over fallen Moab, interrupted at intervals by [prose passages] 
the Divine word denouncing and threatening. In the opening 
of the Rhapsody of Zion Redeemed a Divine word of comfort is 
spoken [prose], and Voices [represented by verse] carry the 
tidings over the wilderness to Zion. The first Vision of this 
rhapsody is a lengthy discourse of God, interrupted at times by 
[verse] outbursts of joy. The third Vision is a succession of 
appeals from God to Zion [prose], with occasional passages 
[verse] of some other power that seconds the appeal of Jehovah. 
There are many similar examples. 

Other cases are more general. The difficult prophecy II. i 
becomes intelligible if we understand the [prose] testimony of 
Isaiah as interrupted by ballad fragments of the enemy quoted 
in scorn. The rhapsody that closes Book IV has a general 
dramatic movement [conveniently represented as prose] inter- 
rupted by what are announced as ' songs/ And such announce- 
ment of ' songs ' in the midst of what as a whole belongs to 
some other literary form is common. 

Another discrimination which I have made by the same de- 
vice is illustrated by the prophecy of the Watchman (IV. x). 
Here we have alternately vivid realisation of something seen in 
vision, and the prophet's explanation or meditation : the forms 
of verse lines and continuous prose fit well with the alternating 
passages. Kindred examples will be found in II. hi; IV. vii; 
V. vii. Important cases are the first and third Songs of Zion 
Exalted (pages 175, 178). In the first, what I have presented 
in verse form makes a song-like poem, complete in itself, cele- 
brating Zion as Jehovah's Bride; it is interrupted by passages, 

216 



Notes 8*- 



distinctly spoken by Jehovah, giving in the style of discourse the 
basis for this conception. Similarly the verse portions of the 
third ' song ' are spoken by Zion to the Nations, and make a 
complete appeal; the interrupting passages [presented as prose] 
give Jehovah's commission that constitutes Zion a witness in this 
manner to the Nations. A confirmation of this arrangement is 
found in the words (page 179), "For my thoughts are not your 
thoughts," etc. A study of the whole shows that the for con- 
nects what follows, not with the sentence immediately preced- 
ing, but with the previous [prose] passage : the thought that 
God's mysterious work is as sure as the operations of nature 
emphasises, not the promise of pardon to the nations, but the 
mysterious elevation of afflicted Zion to the position of a witness 
to the peoples of the world. 

I shall reckon it no objection to the arrangement I have 
adopted if it be pointed out that some of the passages I have 
presented as prose are as full of rhythmic parallelism as passages 
I have presented as verse. In reality there is neither ' verse ' 
nor ' prose,' but a compound style that passes as easily from one 
to another kind of rhythm as music passes from recitative to 
time bars. In such a case I have found in my own experience 
that the utilisation of conventional forms of presentation to the 
eye does assist a discrimination of literary differences that needs 
to be made. And ease in following the thought of the writer is 
the supreme law of literary form. 

217 



-*6 Isaiah 



The Pendulum Movement 

The student of biblical literature should keep before him a 
special tendency of Hebrew thought, to substitute for temporal 
or logical succession an alternation between opposite thoughts, 
like the swinging to and fro of a pendulum. This is of frequent 
occurrence in Isaiah. 

The most extended example is in the first Vision of Zion Re- 
deemed. The situation is that the Nations and Israel are sum- 
moned before the bar of Jehovah to hear of his deliverance 
wrought through Cyrus. God is the sole speaker : and his 
discourse — prolonged through eight chapters — is a regular 
alternation (seven times repeated) between appeals to the 
Nations and addresses to Israel. A similar pendulum-like 
swinging between the ideas of Judgment and Salvation closes 
this rhapsody : the change sometimes occurring in the middle 
of a sentence. An interruption takes place at one point (page 
207) : but the interruption is itself a pendulum swing between 
cries of the lost and the saved. 

The rhapsody that closes Book IV is wholly constructed on 
this form of movement. Its three parts do not succeed one 
another in order of time : the judgment is complete in the first 
two, and is but commencing at the beginning^ of the third. But 
throughout the whole there is the alternation between Judg- 
ment and Salvation : and from this point of view the three 
sections can be seen to increase in intensity. Thus the advance 
in dramatic movement can be represented by the quickening 
of the pendulum swing : 

218 



Notes 8*- 



Section I J S J 
Section 2 J S J S 
Section 3 JSJSJSJSJS 

The pendulum movement may be a touchstone for interpre- 
tation of difficult passages. The obscurity of chapter ix is in 
this work removed by assuming an alternation between triumph 
of Judah's enemies and triumph of Judah. (See pages 31-2.) 

ARRANGEMENT IN SEVEN BOOKS 

The contents of our * Book of the Prophet Isaiah ' have been 
arranged (whether by the prophet himself or an editor) upon 
a singularly clear and harmonious plan. The whole falls into 
seven divisions, or ' books ' : the several books having individu- 
ality of interest, and each working up to a literary climax. 

Book I contains General Prophecies: presenting Isaiah's 
main theme — the purging judgment that must precede the 
salvation of the remnant — without any specialisation to par- 
ticular occasions or circumstances. A climax to the book is 
found in the prophet's vision of his call to the prophetic office; 
it is characteristic of Isaiah that this should follow prophecies 
to which it seems a preface (see above, page 213). 

The prophecies of Book II are specifically connected with an 
historic crisis, the Unholy Alliance (in the reign of Ahaz) of 
Northern Israel with Syria against Judah. A further bond of 
unity running through this book is the sign 4 Immanuel.' For 
a climax, the sign * Immanuel ' is enlarged into the 4 Wonderful 

219 



-*S Isaiah 



Counsellor,' and an ode follows denouncing the final Doom of 
the North. 

The Third Book is wholly occupied with Assyrian invasion 
and the overthrow of the invader; the terms are general, and 
not determined to any particular invasion. The climax is the 
picture of the Holy Mountain and final Messianic peace. 

Book IV is plainly independent of chronology, and gathers 
into one the various Dooms of the Nations. It culminates in a 
general Rhapsody of Judgment, picturing the overthrow of the 
whole earth, and the glory of the saved (both of Israel and of 
the Nations) in the Holy Mountain. [For the reference to 
Moab see below, page 239.] 

The separateness of Book V from what precedes and follows 
is obvious; and it is also easy to catch the harmony of spirit in 
the discourses of which it is made up. Here the universal 
theme of purging judgment and salvation of the remnant is 
bound up with a political situation of the chosen people : but 
it is a situation which is chronic rather than special — a ten- 
dency to seek defence from the coming overthrow other than 
that of submission to divine judgment. In the first discourse 
we read of a * refuge of lies ' on the part of the rulers of Judah; 
in the second discourse they * hide their counsel from the Lord,' 
while the foe is here ' the multitude of all the nations that fight 
against Ariel.' In the third and fourth discourses the false 
refuge is specified as trust in Egypt, and the threatened de- 
struction is from Assyria. The fifth discourse is again general 
in its terms. For a climax to this book we have a Rhapsody of 
Salvation coming at the eleventh hour, while the 'sinners in 

22& 



Notes 8^- 



Zion 1 [those who have been resting on the false hopes] tremble 
before the * everlasting burnings ' that cleanse the holy city. 
There is however a second climax in the seventh prophecy, of 
an Utter Destruction and Great Restoration extending to the 
whole earth. [The reference to Edom is only a detail: see 
below, page 241.]* Thus the spirit of this fifth book is best 
expressed by a general title — Prophecies of Judgment and 
Restoration. 

Book VI, like Book II, is specifically connected with a period 
of history — the reign of Hezekiah. It lacks the climax proph- 
ecy which appears in the other books : unless we are to regard 
Book VII as standing for the grand climax to this book and to 
the whole collection of prophecies. 

What is here designated as Book VII is the all-important 
literary composition called by most modern commentators the 
'Second Isaiah,' and assigned to a different author and a later 
age. With questions of date and authorship the Modern 
Reader's Bible has no concern. The present arrangement 
assumes only what all schools of criticism may concede — that 
these chapters (xl-lxvi) form a literary work distinct from all 
the rest. It is here presented as the Rhapsody (or Spiritual 
Drama) of Zion Redeemed. 

* The vexed questions of the date and authorship of chapter xxxv are out- 
side the scope of the present work. Whatever may be the truth in regard to 
its authorship, it is clear that in the Isaiah which has come down to us this 
section is presented as the contrast to the preceding picture of destruction 
required by the plan of Book V, in all the discourses of which destruction is 
contrasted with restoration. 

221 



-*8 Isaiah 



BOOK I 

For the book as a whole see above, page 219. 

i. This discourse consists of a theme, God's arraignment of 
his children as rebels, treated in four paragraphs : the prophet's 
remonstrance — repentance by oblations — repentance of life — 
corruption redeemed with judgment. 

ii. This discourse has the ' envelope structure ' so common 
in Hebrew lyrics : it opens and closes with pictures of the 
golden age of peace and righteousness, and between these 
pictures the body of the discourse emphasises the purging judg- 
ment through which alone such glory is to be reached. Four 
paragraphs make up the body of the discourse : corruption un- 
forgivable — judgment advancing — judgment on men's pride 
— on women's luxury, till masculine rule and feminine beauty 
both go a-begging. 

And it shall come to pass in the latter days, etc. This para- 
graph (except the last sentence) will be found almost verbatim 
in the Book of Micah. It must not be assumed that Micah 
borrowed it from Isaiah, or Isaiah from Micah. The prophetic 
writings abound in passages which recur with more or less vari- 
ation. It is important in dealing with ancient literature to 
remember that the literature of books was preceded by a grand 
floating literature of oral speech, portion? of which are worked 
up by the later authors into the poetry which has been stereo- 
typed into books. Both Micah and Isaiah are in this case citing 
and enlarging upon one of these floating prophecies. — Cease ye 
from man, etc. This sentence is not found in the Septuagin'c, 

222 



Notes St- 



and is by many regarded as a gloss, on account of its want of con- 
nection with what precedes. But (traditional divisions of chap- 
ters being ignored) the verse connects well with what follows, 
and I have made it the commencement of the new paragraph. 

iv. For the structure of this prophecy, combining 1 verse ' 
and 'prose,' compare above, pages 214-7. I do not see in this 
prophecy any allusion to particular contemporary incident; but 
idealised suggestions of earthquake and famine (2, 6), and inva- 
sion of mystic foes (7). Compare the idealisation of locust 
plagues into mystic forces of destruction in Joel. 

V. The position of this Vision of the prophet's Call at the 
close of the first book is in accordance with a feature of Isaiah's 
style, to place prefaces after that which they preface. [Above, 
page 213.] — Make the heart of this people fat, etc. This must 
not be understood as a warning to the prophet from the outset 
that his ministry would be unsuccessful. The whole commis- 
sion given him amounts to what is the fixed idea throughout all 
Isaiah's writings — a purging judgment, that destroys all but 
the ' remnant ' who by submission are saved. The remnant is 
here exhibited as no more than the stock of a tree that has 
been felled. 

BOOK II 

Book II consists of four closely connected prophecies, unified 
by the specific mention in the text of a political situation, the 
alliance of Northern Israel with Syria against Judah, and also 
by the thought of the 'sign Immanuel.' It is necessary to 
discuss in full detail this difficult section of Isaiah, as I am 

223 



-*8 Isaiah 



advancing an interpretation of the 'sign Immanuel' different 
from the interpretations at present received. 

Accepted interpretations, however much they may differ in 
detail, agree in understanding the ' virgin ' who bears the child 
Immanuel to refer to a virgin (real or ideal) of Judah. The 
suggestion here offered is that the term * Immanuel ' is at first 
connected with a woman of the enemy's land, but is afterwards 
claimed in a truer sense for Judah and the chosen people of 
God. The word 'Immanuel* occurs three times. (i) In the 
first use of it (chapter vii. 14) the prophet is offering comfort to 
Judah in the panic of the allied invasion, and proclaims a sign 
from God. So confident is the foe that a woman [of the enemy] 
bringing forth a child calls him by the proud name ' God-with- 
us ' ; but before that proudly named child is old enough to dis- 
cern good food from bad he will be eating famine fare. [That 
4 butter and honey ' is an expression for famine fare is clear 
from the use of it below (chapter vii. 22), and is so recognised 
by Delitzsch, etc.] (2) The word occurs a second time in 
chapter viii. 8. The Assyrian invasion is to inundate Israel 
[the whole passage relates to the enemy's land, except the 
single clause that it will sweep onward into Judah] : it will 
' fill the breadth of thy land, O Immanuel ' — O boaster of 
God-with-us. (3) When the expression occurs the third 
time (chapter viii. 10) there is clearly a change in the use of 
it : the connective ' for ' shows that what before was a proper 
name is here made into a sentence. The prophet cries to the 
allied enemies : Make what uproar ye please, ye will be broken 
in pieces, for God is with us. The enemy's boast is appropri- 

224 



Notes Se- 



ated in a true sense for the people protected by God. (4) But 
this is not the end of the train of thought represented by the 
expression ' Immanuel.' The prophecy goes on to depict the 
complete triumph of God's chosen people of Judah over their 
enemies, and at the climax expands the idea of the child named 
from the Divine presence into something yet more glorious: 
For unto us a child is bom, unto us a son is given . . . and his 
name shall be called [not merely 4 God with us,' but] Wonderful 
Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. 
Thus the whole group of prophecies finds a unity in the Im- 
manuel idea. 

By some readers the objection may be made that this interpre- 
tation conflicts with the use made of the passage in the New 
Testament. St. Matthew (chapter i. 22) describing Jesus born 
of the Virgin Mary cites the passage of Isaiah : That it might 
be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, 
saying, Behold the virgin shall be with child, and shall bring 
forth a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel ; which is, 
being interpreted, God with us. The answer is : (1) As regards 
the literal meaning of the particular verses of Isaiah, the present 
interpretation conflicts with the passage of St. Matthew only 
in the way in which all other interpretations conflict with it; 
(2) when the general drift of Isaiah's use of ' Immanuel ' is 
considered, the interpretation here offered is a better basis for 
St. Matthew's reference than any other. (1) As regards the 
literal meaning of Isaiah vii. 14, nothing can be clearer than 
that the child whose birth is mentioned will be little more than 
an infant when the alliance of Israel and Syria is overthrown. 
Q 225 



-*8 Isaiah 



The verse could therefore refer to the birth of the Christ only 
in a secondary or mystic sense. [The upholders of the ordinary 
interpretation recognise this. Delitzsch speaks of Isaiah seeing 
as a present event what is really future. Driver understands 
the child as a ' pledge and symbol.' Cheyne says, " There is no 
explanation which does not oblige us to make some assumption 
not directly sanctioned by the text."] Is it not simpler to recog- 
nise that the New Testament writers, following canons of sec- 
ondary and theological interpretation, cite expressions from the 
Old Testament apart from their immediate context, with the 
feeling that the very language of the sacred books had mystic 
significations over and above the natural interpretation that 
would belong to it as mere literature ? Examples of this will 
occur to every reader : an unmistakable illustration is found 
within a few verses of the passage of St. Matthew already 
quoted. Speaking of the flight of Joseph, Mary and the Babe 
into Egypt St. Matthew adds (chapter ii. 15) : That it might 
be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, 
saying, Out of Egypt did I call my son. No reference has been 
suggested for this except to Hosea, chapter xi. 1, which reads: 
When Israel was a child, then I loved him, and called my son 
out of Egypt. It is obvious that the words of Hosea cited by 
St. Matthew must be separated from their literary context in 
order to bear the significance he places on them. Thus as 
regards the verse of Isaiah quoted by St. Matthew, the interpre- 
tation here offered is no further than the received interpretations 
from St. Matthew's use of the prophecy. (2) But when we 
pass from particular verses to the whole drift of the Immanuel 

226 



Notes 8^ 



prophecies, it will be clear that the proposed interpretation 
makes a fitter basis for the theological use of the term than any 
other : for it involves the connection of the term * Immanuel ' 
with the expanded expression 4 Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty 
God,' etc., which is the most Messianic of all Messianic prophe- 
cies. 

I proceed to point out how the proposed interpretation sim- 
plifies the connectedness of the group of prophecies from the 
historic standpoint. Those who connect the virgin of chapter 
vii. 14-16 with Judah are bound to connect with Judah also 
the verse that follows : 

The LORD shall bring upon thee, and upon thy people, 
and upon thy fathers house, days that have not come, from 
the day that Ephraim departed from Judah; even the king 
of Assyria, 

They are thus saddled with the difficulty of understanding a 
threatened Assyrian invasion of Judah in the midst of a prophecy 
of which the explicit purpose is to comfort Judah under another 
invasion. This is surely rubbing the sore instead of bringing 
the plaister. The difficulty is usually met by saying that Ahaz, 
instead of accepting the prophet's message, went to Assyria for 
assistance, and in the end suffered from the power he had pre- 
ferred to Judah's God. This may be true as an historic fact, but 
not a word to that effect is said by Isaiah. Nor is it questioned 
that in passages that immediately follow (e.g. chapter viii. I, 
etc.) the prophet is describing the Assyrian overthrow of Israel 
and Syria. Thus the ordinary explanation of the Immanuel 

227 



-»8 Isaiah 



verses involves a threatened Assyrian invasion of Judah inter- 
jected — without anything to mark the change — into a com- 
forting promise to suffering Judah that her enemies should be 
overthrown by the Assyrians, and this because of a sin of Judah 
which the prophet omits to mention. With the present inter- 
pretation all this difficulty vanishes. The connection of chapter 
vii. 14 with Israel carries with it the reference of the verses that 
follow to Israel : it is Israel and its ally who suffer the Assyrian 
invasion throughout the whole group of prophecies. I have 
made this clear by the division of the text. I may add as a 
confirmation that the expression (chapter vii. 17) days that have 
not come from the day that Ephraim departed from Judah is an 
unnatural expression in an address to Judah : in an address to 
Northern Israel it is the most natural of all expressions, being 
equivalent to saying, 4 Since thou becamest a kingdom.' 

This interpretation of the land suffering Assyrian invasion as 
the land of Israel (and her ally) in all cases, and never the 
land of Judah, applies also to chapter ix. My explanation of 
this difficult portion of Isaiah is conveyed chiefly by the mode 
in which I have printed the text (see Prophecy iii of Book II). 
(1) It is necessary to isolate chapter viii. 11-20 as a preface to 
the prophecy which extends from chapter viii. 9 to ix. 7. For 
such parenthetic prefaces see above, page 213 : this is the most 
pronounced example, and has the further peculiarity of a par- 
enthetic acceptance (chapter viii. 17, 18) by the prophet of the 
Divine commission. There is no difficulty in following such an 
arrangement when the passage is properly printed. (2) What 
remains (chapter viii. 9, 10 and viii. 21 to ix. 7) makes a rhap- 

228 



Notes S*- 



sodic vision of very interesting structure. In the first section 
there is a pendulum movement in single lines between the ideas 
of the enemy ' girding themselves ' to destroy and their being 
dashed in pieces themselves. In the second section (following 
the parenthetic preface) there is the same pendulum movement 
in stanzas : alternately we have the boastful cries of Judah's 
enemies (indicated in my text by quotation marks) and the 
glorious triumph of Judah. By the time the third section is 
reached the boasting enemy has disappeared, and there is only 
the triumph of Judah in the child Wonderful. 

There remains the difficulty of chapter vii. 7-9, which as 
ordinarily presented reads thus : 

Thus saith the Lord GOD, It shall not stand, neither shall 
it come to pass. For the head of Syria is Damascus, and 
the head of Damascus is Rezin : and within threescore and 
five years shall Ephraim be broken in pieces, that it be not 
a people : and the head of Ephraim is Samaria, and the 
head of Samaria is Remaliah's son. If ye will not believe, 
surely ye shall not be established. 

All commentators recognise the extreme difficulty of follow- 
ing the connection of sentences here; and proposals are made 
to alter the text. I think the passage becomes intelligible 
(though not free from difficulty) on the basis of understanding 
quotations from the triumph songs of the enemy as scornfully 
interjected by the prophet in the midst of his pledge of their 
overthrow. (See my arrangement of the text : Prophecy i of 
Book II.) This may seem a violent interpretation; but it has 

229 



-*S Isaiah 



the support (i) of Prophecy iii of this book, which I explain on 
the basis of similar quotations; (2) of the undoubted example 
of Psalm lxviii. 12-14, where the progress of Israel's invasion 
of the land of Canaan is conveyed by snatches of their triumph 
songs.* 

i, ii, iii. Compare the general account of Book II, above, 
pages 223-30. For ii compare also note on IV. viii. 

iv. The structure of this Doom Song is an interesting ex- 
ample of the combination of ' verse ' and 1 prose ' which has 
been discussed in general terms above, page 214. There are 
here four stanzas, exactly symmetrical one with another. In 
each there is (a) an introductory couplet, (3) in the middle a 
quatrain of verse gnomic in character, (c) at the end a couplet 
refrain; between these fixed portions of verse there is prose 
(like recitative in music) which is expanded to varying degrees 
of fulness in the different stanzas. Though the refrain is ver- 
bally unchanged, yet it has the effect of continual advance, 
through the fuller meaning which comes into the word ' still 1 
with each succeeding stanza. 

EOOK III 

The whole book is made up of a single prophecy of Assyria 
considered as the rod of Jehovah's anger : permitted to triumph 
as the unconscious agent of Jehovah's purposes, and cut down 
in his pride on the brink of complete success. The prophecy 
falls into two sections. The first section puts the thought in the 

* See my Literary Study of the Bible, page 145. 
230 



Notes 8^ 



form of general prediction. The second opens with realistic 
cries of panic, as if Jerusalem itself were on the point of fall- 
ing: at this moment comes the Divine interposition, and as 
against fallen Assyria we have the picture of the Holy Mountain 
and the peace of 'the remnant': songs of salvation make the 
concluding note. 

BOOK IV 

i. The structure of this Doom prophecy is made up of the 
Divine word of the overthrow of Babylon [prose passages] 
interrupted at intervals by [impersonal] songs realising or cele- 
brating what the Divine word brings forward. Compare above, 
page 215. The last of these verse interruptions is a fully devel- 
oped Ode on Fallen Babylon. [Its structural form is anti- 
strophic inversion (7, 6; 6, 7) on a basis of the Dirge or Taunt 
rhythm : this is (in contradistinction to equal parallelism) a 
line followed by a weaker line. The general impression of this 
rhythm is clear in this ode, though the inequality may be 
obscure in some couplets.] 

My consecrated ones . . . them that exult in my majesty. The 
Divine voice is heard calling to his 4 hosts'; the idea suggested 
by the title Jehovah Sabaoth. Compare Joel iii. 1 1 and 13; 
Psalm ciii. 20, 21. — I will sit upoit the mount of congregation 
in the uttermost parts of the north : for the north as the quarter 
from which Divine judgment is to be looked for, compare note 
on page 175 of the Job volume of this series. 

iii. The natural suggestion of this Doom Song is some 
affliction of Israel which is a cause of triumph for all the cities 

231 



-»8 Isaiah' 



of Israel's hereditary foe Philistia. They are bidden not to re- 
joice too soon : forces of destruction await themselves, and the 
accumulation of such forces of destruction is expressed in the 
three degrees of comparison: serpent, basilisk, fiery flying ser- 
pent. — A smoke out of the north: the north is regularly the 
quarter from which Divine judgments come. There may be 
also a pointing to Assyria, especially in view of the date note 
appended. [Compare 77" Chronicles, chapter xxviii. 16-18.] — 
What then shall one answer the messengers of the nation ? The 
prose epilogue suggests ambassadors of triumphant Philistia com- 
ing to Judah, but received with the answer that her confidence 
is still only in Jehovah. 

iv. In its structure this beautiful Doom prophecy is a real- 
istic Wail over fallen Moab [quatrains of verse] alternating at 
intervals with [prose passages] the Divine word ordaining the 
overthrow. Compare above, page 215. Towards the close 
(page 60) the dirge rhythm has become pronounced [each line 
of the quatrain represents a dirge couplet], and the quatrains 
are separated by varying refrains (italic passages). — ''Send ye 
the lambs? etc. Here Moab is supposed to speak and to appeal 
for help to the power from which she had revolted. Compare 
77 Kings, chapter iii. 4. — This is the word that the LORD 
spake . . . but now the LORD hath spoken : for similar postscripts 
to prophecies compare below, Book IV. xi, xii. 

vii. There is a certain amount of ambiguity about the situa- 
tion presented in this striking Doom prophecy. Ambassadors 
are busily travelling in vessels of papyrus on the Nile — but to 
whom? Either (1) from the land beyond the rivers of Ethiopia 

232 



Notes 8^- 



to the Ethiopians (the 'nation tall and smooth,' etc.), as if 
making common cause against an invader; or (2) from the 
Ethiopians and neighbouring peoples on their way to Assyria. 
The second verse will suit perfectly well with the Assyrians, es- 
pecially the words, A nation that meteth out, and treadeth down, 
whose land the rivers divide. In either case the denouement 
is the same : an interposition of Jehovah such that henceforward 
Ethiopia (or Assyria) will send embassies to Zion alone. — 
For the structure compare above, page 216. After the situation 
has been realistically opened in verse, prose puts the Divine 
attitude: that of waiting without a sign of activity until the 
moment of doom has arrived, like a clear summer day that 
gives no sign of the tempest that is going to destroy the harvest. 

viii. In this prophecy, as in II. ii, I have suggested a cluster 
of ' Prophetic Sentences.' These are brief prophetic utterances, 
each complete in itself; there is usually some pointedness of 
expression that makes them Prophetic Epigrams, like the maxims 
and epigrams of Wisdom literature.* They would be suitable 
for passing from mouth to mouth among the people; or they 
might, as in these two places, be gathered about a prophecy of 
another kind. In II. ii a confirmation of the general character of 
such sentences is seen in the fact that the second of them makes 
reference to Egypt as well as Assyria, though the whole situa- 
tion in Book II is entirely independent of Egypt. This prophecy 
(IV. viii) describes a judgment on Egypt so great that the 
Egyptians would tremble before the people of Judah. It is 

* Ecclesiasticus volume, page xi. The whole subject of Prophetic Sen- 
tences is discussed in my Literary Study of the Bible, chapter xviii. 

233 



-*8 Isaiah 



natural to append to this extended prophecy a cluster of Sen- 
tences all putting, with more or less of epigrammatic point, the 
idea of a future conversion of Egypt to the worship of Jehovah. 
— One shall be called, The city of Destruction. A play upon 
words, as between Heres (destruction, especially used of icono- 
clasm) and Kheres (the sun: a reference to Heliopolis). 

x. An extremely interesting cluster of prophecies, bound 
into a unity by the underlying image of the Prophetic Watch- 
man. This is one of the standing images of prophetic literature 
[compare below chapter lii. 8, lxii. 6, etc.; Habakkuk ii, i; 
Ezekiel iii. 17, xxxiii. 2; Psalm lxxxv. 8] : but here appears 
elevated into a pictorial groundwork for the whole group of 
oracles. The prophet stands sentinel on the eastern boundary 
of the holy land, peering into the darkness of futurity for signs 
of coming judgments. [Verse 6 of chapter xxi reads : The Lo?'d 
said unto me, Go, set a watcJwian : but the general drift of the 
whole suggests that the prophet himself is conceived to be 
acting as watchman.] 

1. The first oracle opens with realistic exclamations [here 
presented as verse] and the prophet's excitement at what his 
vision shows [in prose passages] : the exclamations include the 
Divine cries [indicated by double quotation marks] to the foes 
of Babylon to set on. Next comes, after the fashion of paren- 
thetic prefaces (see above, page 213), the explanation of the 
establishment of the prophet's watch-tower. The vision is con- 
tinued as before, and the whole ends with the prophet's apos- 
trophe to the Babylon which the God of his vision will thresh 
as the corn on the floor. The title to this first of the four 

234 



Notes 8*- 



prophecies is, The Oracle of the Wilderness of the Sea : the 
' Sea 9 being, as often, used for the Tigris and Euphrates waters; 
while the opening words describe the vision as sweeping like a 
storm across the wilderness that separates the Euphrates region 
from the holy land. 

2. The second title is, The Oracle of Silence (or DumaK). 
As I understand it, no further vision is seen ; but the section 
is devoted to keeping before us the poetic image of the prophetic 
watch-tower. It is a morsel of dialogue : a voice from the bor- 
der region (Seir) cries for tidings of the night ; answer is made 
(as if in the watchman's formula) that there are no tidings ; 
that the succession of day and night goes on without interrup- 
tion ; the seeker must enquire again. 

3. The Oracle at Evening is simple. Realistic verses express 
the prophet's vision of a scattered host being relieved by the 
wandering tribes of Dedanites; then plain prose puts the pre- 
diction of such a scattering for the hosts of Kedar. 

4. The Oracle of the Valley of Vision. This is an extremely 
difficult passage. But it is to be reckoned with the cluster of 
Watchman prophecies : the prophet stands on a tower, the ' val- 
ley of vision ' is the region in which what he sees appears.* The 
situation implied in the prophecy is not simply panic or defeat, 
but a defeat mistaken for a victory. What the prophet sees 
from his watch-tower is a city wholly given up to rejoicings 

* As Professor Cheyne avows that he has reached the explanation of this 
passage which he gives " after much fluctuation," I need make no apology 
for having reversed the view expressed on this prophecy in my Literary 
Study of the Bible, page 358 note. 

235 



-*S Isaiah 



over a victory of its troops in the field, whereas the prophet can 
see that instead of victory there has been disgraceful rout — 
Jerusalem's troops have not even been slain in battle but are 
bound without the bow, i.e. have fled without striking a blow. 
After this vision has been put in realistic exclamations [pre- 
sented in my text as verse], a paragraph [of prose] follows as 
in the other prophecies of the group, conveying the prophet's 
distress at what he has seen. When the next paragraph is 
reached, the delusion that has held the city has suddenly van- 
ished : he took away the covering of Judah : and now all is 
panic and hasty preparations for a siege. The final paragraph 
goes back in thought to the first sight of the vision : in that day 
the Lord was calling to mourning, and there had been nothing 
but feasting and joy ! An unforgivable offence. 

xi. Among these Dooms of the Nations is here found a per- 
sonal denunciation of the treasurer Shebna, and an exaltation 
of Eliakim as his successor. But apparently Eliakim in the end 
proves unworthy, and a postscript (compare above, IV. iv) de- 
nounces his nepotism. The mode in which this postscript is 
linked to what precedes is ingenious. In glorifying Eliakim 
the prophet had used the image of a 4 nail in a sure place.' 
When Eliakim's fault is apparent, the image is carried on : that 
he hangs on this nail all the glory of his father's house, the off- 
spring arid the issue, until the nail that was fastened in a sure 
place gives way. 

xii. In the first two sections of this Doom prophecy the 
shock of Tyre's fall is being felt all over the mercantile world: 
Kittim (Cyprus), a half-way station, Tarshish (extreme west, 

236 



I 

I 

Notes 8*- 



coast of Spain), the region of the Nile on the south. The third 
section is more difficult. Pass through thy land as the Nile, O 
daughter of Tarshish, etc. : the suggestion seems to be of a 
restraint exercised by Tyre on the rest of the mercantile world 
(e.g. by imposts, etc.) : this girdle is now removed, and distant 
merchants are as free as the Nile in days of inundation. — O 
thou oppressed virgin daughter of Zidon : the daughter of 
Zidon is an expression for Zidon (compare Jeremiah's daughter 
of my people for the people) : she is pictured as a ravished vir- 
gin fleeing to Kittim, and further. — And her merchandise . . . 
shall be holiness to the LORD : in vain should Tyre recover her 
greatness, her riches in the end shall be conquered and become 
the consecrated spoil of Jehovah's people. 

xiii 

To this Book of Dooms of the Nations a magnificent climax 
is made in this Rhapsody (or dramatic vision) of a Judgment 
embracing the whole universe. There is no note of particular 
events or special peoples ; but a day of the Lord that falls upon 
the whole earth, except the Mountain of the Lord which stands 
out as a point of light amid a ruined world [compare Zechariah> 
chapter xiv], where a remnant (of Israel and of the Nations) 
enjoy a glorious salvation. The whole falls into three sections. 
As with the Rhapsody of Zion Redeemed, these sections are not 
successive in time like the acts of a drama, but present the 
same judgment in different aspects. In place of temporal suc- 
cession we have the pendulum movement dear to Hebrew 
imagination, alternating between Judgment and Salvation. The 

237 



-*S Isaiah 



first section presents a destruction covering the earth; in the 
second section heaven and earth are involved; the third sec- 
tion displays the judgment in its moment of crisis, and here the 
pendulum-like alternation quickens and intensifies. [See p. 218.] 

1. The destruction of the whole earth is brought out in 
snatches of vision alternating with the Voice of Prophecy, which 
comments upon and enlarges what the vision reveals. At last 
the ' remnant ' is reached {grape gleanings when the vintage is 
done) : voices of the Saved in antiphonal rejoicings from all 
over the world are recognised by the Doomed. [ Voices from 
the West . . . from the East ; when we recognise the sea or the 
isles of the sea as conventional expressions for the west, these 
titles are easily inferred from chapter xxvii. 14, 15, in the light 
of verse 16.] 

2. In the second section the destruction embraces heaven as 
well as earth : the host of the high ones on high [stars] and the 
kings of the earth upon the earth. — After many days shall they 
be visited : the context makes this mean, not punishment fol- 
lowed by forgiveness, but impunity followed by visitation. — In 
place of merely voices of the Saved we now have complete 
Songs. [Two Songs have a structure of antistrophic inversion 
(4, 6; 6, 4 and 8, 6; 6, 8) ; the rest are in triplet stanzas.] — And 
in this mountain, etc. The centre of the rhapsody is the pres- 
entation of Mount Zion standing out from the universal destruc- 
tion. And he will destroy in this mountain the face of the cover- 
ing that is cast over all peoples : here the dark pall of destruction 
that has embraced the whole universe is suddenly rent for 
the holy mountain [compare the similar crisis in Joel, chapter 

238 



Notes 8«- 



iii. 14-16]; there follows at once the triumph of the Saved: 
He hath swallowed up death for ever, etc. — Moab shall be trod- 
den down in his place : in the momentary reversion to judgment 
Moab is mentioned merely as one of the border peoples; from 
the holy mountain the Saved behold the destruction extending 
from the border nations to the darkness of the ruined world. 

3. In place of stationary pictures, we now have the judgment 
presented in its progress : a crisis of doom is before us. The 
Prophetic Spectator can see the hand of God lifted while the 
Doomed are yet blind; in a moment the judgment has fallen, 
and the Doomed cry out too late; all this while the Saved have 
been preparing themselves for the crisis by repentance. In the 
other sections there has been a slow alternation between Judg- 
ment and Salvation : now there is a change from the one to the 
other with almost every speech. [This last consideration is 
important for interpretation. There is a tendency, for example, 
to connect The dead live not (verse 14 of chapter xxvi) with 
Thy dead shall live (verse 19) : the arrangement in my text 
shows how the two refer to the Doomed and the Saved respec- 
tively.] — Hide thyself for a little 7noment until the indignation 
be overpast: compare again Joel, chapter iii. 14-16. The 
LORD shall punish leviathan . . . he shall slay the dragon, etc. 
The reference to these monsters of nature is to convey how all 
heaven and earth is involved in the catastrophe. For the idea 
of these monsters compare note in the Job volume, page 151. — 
Fury is not in me, etc., the idea is, that all foes of Jehovah have 
disappeared : were there any left they would be but briers and 
thorns before his consuming fire. — In measure, when thou 

239 



-*8 Isaiah 



sendest her away, thou dost contend with her; he hath removed 
her with his rough blast in the day of the east wi?id. Here the 
subject of the whole speech (the purging of the Saved con- 
trasted with the destruction of the Doomed by the same judg- 
ment) is presented under the image of winnowing : the Saved 
are treated with the measured wind of the winnowing fan, the 
others are met with a tempest that blows them away into 
nothingness. [To a modern reader there is difficulty in the in- 
discriminate use of him, them, her ; this is in accordance with 
the rugged abruptness of Hebrew poetry.] — The final para- 
graphs put the root idea of the rhapsody under the favourite 
prophetic images of boughs lopped and consumed, corn beaten 
out, a trumpet summoning the exiles home. 

BOOK V 

For the general tenor of the several discourses compare on 
the book as a whole, above, page 220. 

i. The four paragraphs of this discourse exhibit the favourite 
alternation between Judgment and Salvation. — The crown of 
pride of drunken Ephraim trodden down — a crown of glory 
for the residue. — But there are drunken rulers in Judah also, 
trusting to a refuge of lies instead of the sure foundation stone, 
" he that believeth shall not make haste " : the scourge will 
sweep away their refuge of lies. — But for the patient comfort 
is imparted in agricultural images : the cruel plowing does not 
go on for ever, the gentle sowing comes; there are sharp thresh- 
ing instruments [for the guilty], the gentle threshing with the 

240 



Notes &~ 



rod for the precious cummin; and even the threshing is not to 
crush, but to make corn fit for bread. 

iii. For the oracle cited compare above, page 214. 

V. In this brief discourse the change from judgment to 
restoration, which is such a feature of this book, is found in the 
middle of a sentence : until the spirit be poured upon us from 
on high. 

vi. This is the first of the climax prophecies to Book V. As 
the glorious restoration has been the most prominent theme in 
what has preceded, so here we have a rhapsodic drama of Sal- 
vation. The prophet beholds in vision the interposition of God 
while the people are yet groaning under the yoke. When the 
last hope is gone (the ambassadors returning with peace denied 
them, and describing the desolation of the land through which 
they have travelled) God rises to save. The Sinners in Zion 
tremble at the purging fire which is saving them : for the Godly 
in Zion there is nothing but rejoicing. — Thine eyes shall see 
. . . thine heart shall muse : the Godly are addressing one 
another. 

vii. A further climax: in the spirit of the whole book 
(above, page 220) we have prophetic pictures of destruction 
covering the whole world, and an equally universal restoration. 
[The context shows that Edom is mentioned only as a typical 
foe: compare Joel (chapter iii. 19), where Egypt and Edom are 
similarly mentioned in what is obviously a universal destruc- 
tion.] — The two pictures are linked by corresponding passages, 
each a parenthetic quintet, interrupting the pictorial descrip- 
tion, which is afterwards resumed, with words emphasising the 

R 241 



Isaiah 



prophecy as a whole : Seek ye out of the book of the LORD and 
read [how all these woes shall come to pass]. . . . Strengthen 
ye the weak hands [with these glorious promises], 

BOOK VI 

For the book as a whole, see above, page 221. 

ii. Hezekiah's Song. The structure of this song is interest- 
ing. It is a variety of antistrophic structure, by which six 
couplets (of despair) are balanced by six triplets (of triumph) : 
there is the further peculiarity of a parenthetic refrain (outside 
the structure) augmenting gradually from I said until it reaches 
complete couplets : 

Like a swalloiv or a crane, so did L chatter, 
I did mourn as a dove. 

For the augmenting refrain, compare David's Lament over 
Jonathan {Judges voiume, pages 244, 253). 

BOOK VII 

THE RHAPSODY OF ZION REDEEMED 

For the general idea of a * rhapsody ' as a form of literature, 
see Introduction, pages vii-xii. 

For the seven divisions of this rhapsody see page 129. These 
seven parts are not successive in time like the acts of a drama 
(compare note on IV. xiii), but each is complete in itself. On 

242 



Notes 8*- 



the whole, the best name for them seems to be * Visions ' : com- 
pare the use of this word in the general title for the Book oj 
Isaiah, 

Prelude 

This Prelude, like the overture of many modern musical com- 
positions, is a lyric anticipation or foreshadowing of the whole 
work. A word of comfort for Jerusalem is spoken by God, and 
voices are heard carrying the glad tidings on the way towards 
Jerusalem. The Voice in the desert suggests the return of the 
exiles across the desert which is the theme of the first Vision. 
The second and third Voices foreshadow the despondency of 
Zion and her relief which occur in the second Vision. The 
fourth Voice directly suggests the Awakening of Zion at the 
close of Vision three. And the structure of the fifth song is an 
epitome of the alternation between Jehovah's work of Judgment 
and Salvation with which the rhapsody closes. 

Vision I 

This lengthy Vision is an elaborate forensic scene, in which 
the Nations of the earth on the one hand, and Israel on the 
other side, are summoned before the bar of Jehovah to hear 
his 4 counsel ' in the matter of the triumphant career of Cyrus. 
Realistic touches keep the scene vividly before us all through. 
There is no personal speaker except Jehovah, but the dramatic 
effect is produced by alternating monologue : Jehovah turning 
alternately to the Nations and to Israel, with a total change of 

243 



■^8 Isaiah 



tone as he addresses the one or the other. [The divisions of the 
speeches are clear : but of course each party is addressed in 
the presence of the other, and hence there are in the middle of 
the speeches momentary turnings from the one to the other.] 
The monologue is interrupted at intervals by lyric outbursts of 
joy at the Divine tidings : these seem to be impersonal hymns, 
and not the words of any speaker (except the triumph song on 
page 153). The pendulum-like alternation is seven times re- 
peated (compare above, page 218) : and each section has an 
individuality of its own. 

Introduction. As the Prelude dramatically foreshadows the 
whole rhapsody, so we have here a prefatory discourse which 
is a summary of the spirit of Vision I. It has two paragraphs 
analogous to the alternating sections of the Vision: the one 
exalts Jehovah as against the idolatrous Nations, the other com- 
forts desponding Israel. 

i. The first section is occupied with the summons of the 
Nations and Israel to meet Jehovah in judgment. There is a 
brief suggestion of the panic of the assembling idolaters ; and 
in contradistinction to this the way of approach for Israel will 
be smoothed by their God. 

Keep silence : suggestive of a proclamation before a potentate 
(compare Habakkuk, chapter ii. 20; Psalm xlvi. 10). 

O islands : the Grecian chain of islands is often used to ex- 
press the extremity of the prophetic world. 

Whom he calleth in righteousness to his foot. It is extremely 
important in studying prophetic literature to remember the 
double meaning in prophecy of the word righteousness ; (1) our 

244 



Notes 8«- 



modern meaning, doing right; (2) the prophetic meaning, setting 
right, vindication, almost the equivalent of salvation. Here the 
word is used in the second sense. Compare (page 139) : Who 
hath declared it . . . beforetime, that we may say ; He is righteous 
(that is, vindicated by the event); again (page 150), Let the 
skies pour down righteousness, let the earth . . . bring forth 
salvation; (page 166) My righteousness is near, my salvation is 
gone forth. There is a play upon the two meanings of the word 
on page 181 : Keep ye judgement, and do righteousness : for my 
salvation is near to come, and my righteousness to be revealed. 

The isles saw and feared, etc. Very rarely in these rhapso- 
dies a portion of the movement is described or announced, in- 
stead of being brought out in discourse and dialogue. Such 
passages are analogous to what in theatrical dramas are ' stage- 
directions ' [these in modern dramas (e.g. those of Victor Hugo, 
Ibsen) include considerable pieces of action]. For other ex- 
amples compare above, pages 106, 107, 189. 

*** The reader will note that such announcements of the 
action are printed in italic type (indented) when they are 
the words of Scripture; where they are explanations of 
my own they are marked off by square brackets. 

ii. The two parties being now assembled, Jehovah challenges 
the Nations and their idols to produce their cause. The challenge 
is twice made without response : the idols are declared there- 
fore to be vanity. — It is important to note that the point of 
Jehovah's challenge is not (as sometimes interpreted) the power 
to predict the triumph of Cyrus. Shew us things for to come is 

245 



-*8 Isaiah 



regularly combined with declare ye the former things, and what 
Jehovah claims for himself is a providential government of his- 
tory : the career of Cyrus is the final touch that reveals the 
counsel of Jehovah from the beginning to the end of history. 
[What this is appears in the next speech.] 

Jehovah turns to Israel. (i) He proclaims Israel to the 
Nations as Jehovah's Servant; (2) that his service is to bring 
judgment to the Nations, but without violence. [The applica- 
tion of A bruised reed shall he not break to Christ by St. Mat- 
thew is a secondary or mystic interpretation (compare above, 
page 225) : at this point of the rhapsody the ' Servant of Je- 
hovah ' is undoubtedly the nation of Israel.] (3) In the de- 
velopment of Jehovah's counsel as to his Servant a new wonder 
is to be told [here comes the outburst of joyful expectation] : 
the Servant of Jehovah is blind and deaf and hidden in prison 
houses, not understanding that this imprisonment among the 
nations is for his sins against his God ; but these nations have 
gone beyond their intended purpose and been 'robbers'; now 
therefore the Maker of Israel will be his Redeemer, giving 
nations [Cyrus's conquests] as his price ; the prison houses shall 
yield up the 4 blind people that have eyes.' 

iii- The third section is, to the Nations, an emphatic repe- 
tition of the former challenge. To Israel is promised a way 
of return [suggestive of the deliverance from Egypt : ' rivers in 
the wilderness'], and a moral analogy to this [compare / will 
pour my spirit upon thy seed . . . and they shall spring up 
among the grass, as wiliozvs by the watercourses.^ 

iv. The fourth section is occupied with the authority of him 
246 



Notes 8«- 



who promises. The scorn of idols is interwoven with the an- 
tithesis between formed gods, and Jehovah the former of Israel, 
who is the promiser of this redemption. 

V. In the fifth section not only the Nations in general but 
Cyrus in particular is addressed. Another idea appears (page 
151), that Jehovah is the saviour of the ends of the earth as 
well as Israel. Another antithesis is made prominent, between 
the idols who are carried in procession [Bel bozveth down over 
one beast, Nebo stoopeth over another], and Jehovah who carries 
his people from infancy to hoar hairs. 

vi. This section opens with Israel's triumph over Babylon : 
then Jehovah addresses the Nations and in particular the Baby- 
lon that is to be overthrown. — The address to Israel is to the 
half-hearted of the nation, who will be ' refined, but not as silver.' 

vii. The final section contains a brief summary of the com- 
mission to Cyrus to deliver Israel from Babylon, and the voice 
of Cyrus is heard responding. There is a brief address to Israel, 
followed by the cry to go forth from Babylon. With this this 
first Vision closes. 

Page 158. There is no peace, saith the LORD, unto the wicked. 
In the case of this much-disputed sentence I am wholly unable 
to see any connection with the context. I have treated it as a 
pious ejaculation used to separate the sections of a long work : 
compare the doxologies separating the five books of Psalms. 

Vision II 

This Vision is wholly occupied by the 1 Servant of Jehovah.' 
At the commencement this Servant of Jehovah is explicitly the 

247 



-*3 Isaiah 



nation Israel; though there may be an approach to idealisation 
in the fact that it is (the true) Israel rousing (the false) Israel 
to the Divine commission. At the close of Vision II there is 
such an approach to personality in the Servant of Jehovah as is 
implied in the conception of a suffering martyr. 

The Vision seems to fall into three sections, i. Jehovah's 
Servant meditates on his twofold mission (as given in the pre- 
vious Vision) : to the tribes of Jacob and to the Gentiles, 
ii. Then clearly follows the ministry to Zion in the form of a 
dialogue of consolation. [ Who hath begotten me these, etc. : the 
text of the R.V. actually reads, Then shalt thou say in thine 
heart. Who hath begotten me these. But as the spirit of the 
whole passage is a dialogue of consolation I have thought it 
within the scope of the mode of presenting here used to replace 
these words by the title Zion as speaker; compare such cases 
as Job took up his parable and said.'] — iii. The third section I 
have headed as the Ministry to the Gentiles : though this is not 
quite clear. The strong emphasis in the first section on the double 
mission, and the clear confinement of ii to Zion, suggest that we 
should expect an appeal to the Gentiles here; and the words 
Who is among you that feareth the LORD fall in well with such 
an explanation. It comes as a confirmation of this that four 
times in this section we find the form of the name Jehovah 
represented in the R.V. by God [as distinguished from the 
Lord] : and there appears a tendency in the rhapsody as a 
whole to use this form of the Divine name in connection with 
outsiders, as Lord is the special name with God's own people. 
[The usage is clear in the examples on pages 133, 157, 162, 
4 248 



Notes B*- 



170, 182, 204, 205: less clear in those on pages 195, 196: see 
below, page 253.] 

Vision XXI 

This is made up of (i) Appeals of Jehovah, seconded by the 
Celestial Hosts, to Zion to awake. No response is made until 
(ii) the end : the Awakening of Zion, as the Watchmen of Zion 
[compare above, page 234] catch the tidings of the Messengers 
[compare the Prologue], and waken slumbering Jerusalem. — 
Ye that bear the vessels of the LORD : for the prominence of 
this idea in Israelite conceptions of the Return from Exile com- 
pare the Chronicles volume of this series, pages 200, 201. 

Vision IV 

The Servant of Jehovah now appears as exalted : the exalta- 
tion consists in the recognition at last by the chorus of Nations 
of a humiliation they had misinterpreted. There seems now a 
mystic personality attaching to 'Jehovah's Servant'; and the 
words of the choral song distinctly associate with that person- 
ality the idea of vicarious sufferings, a soul making an offering 
for sin , bearing the sins of many. 

Vision V 

Three Songs of Zion Exalted. The order of the Visions is 
noticeable : The Servant of Jehovah Awakened, Zion Awakened; 
the Servant of Jehovah Exalted, Zion Exalted. — i. Song of Zion 

249 



-*8 Isaiah 



as the Bride of Jehovah. For its structure compare above, 
page 216. ii. Zion the city of Beauty and Peace. Both these are 
apostrophes to Zion; in iii Zion is the speaker: for its structure 
compare above, page 217. — And I will make an everlasting cove- 
nant with yoti, even the sure mercies of David : Zion is speaking, 
exercising her new authority to admit the Nations into the cove- 
nant of Jehovah's people with their God. In the words that 
immediately follow Jehovah recognises Zion as thus a witness to 
the peoples. — For my thoughts are not your thoughts^ etc. : see 
above, page 217. 

Vision VI 

This is the most difficult portion of the rhapsody. Its gen- 
eral subject is clear : Redemption at work in Zion. It must be 
remembered that the seven Visions are not to be regarded as 
successive in time. Each is complete in itself; in the present 
case redemption is fully presented from its earliest stage ; nor is 
there any limitation to particular epochs of history. There is 
only a logical sequence in the successive Visions : Deliverance, 
Awakening, Redemption [spiritual purification in preparation 
for] Judgment (the final separation of Good and Evil). The 
movement of this sixth Vision again is not difficult to follow. 
The main obscurity is the question, who is the leading speaker. 
This will best be considered in the successive sections of which 
the Vision is made up. 

Introduction. As in Vision I, we have a prefatory discourse 
before the dramatic movement begins. The body of Vision VI 
being occupied with redemption in Zion, this Introduction is 

250 



Notes 8«- 



careful to premise that outsiders — strangers and eunuchs (ex- 
cluded by the old Law) — may by 'righteousness ' be subjects of 
the 'righteousness' which is to be revealed. [For the word 
righteousness, compare above, page 244]. 

i. The first stage of the movement is a Struggle with Sin and 
Error. Who is the speaker here ? — (1) Not Jehovah : for the 
cries of encouragement that come to the speaker (pages 184, 
185) are from Him. — (2) Is it the 'Servant of Jehovah,' who 
has held such a leading position in Visions II and IV ? It is 
noticeable that the term never occurs after Vision IV [of course 
the plural 'servants' occurs often, but in no special sense]. It 
may be open to theology to argue on independent grounds for 
the identity of the speaker of this section with the Servant, but 
the primary and literary interpretation does not give sufficient 
indication of this.* — (3) Is the speaker the same as in sec- 
tion v of this Vision, to whom I have given the title 'The 
Redeemer ' ? The words of section iii seem distinctly a turning 
point in the movement of the Vision, and they promise a Re- 
deemer to Zion; moreover, the opening of section v reads like a 
person announcing himself : there seems then great difficulty in 
understanding such a personage to be present in this earlier 
stage. — (4) It seems then that the Presence here struggling for 
the redemption of Zion is something left obscure and undefined; 
and I have therefore fallen back upon the * Voice of Prophecy,' 
that appears speaking on behalf of God so often in dramatic 
prophecies. 

* In my Literary Study of the Bible I took this not uncommon view: 
further consideration has led me to think it insufficiently supported. 

251 



-*8 Isaiah 



Page 183. And thou wentest to the king with ointment. . . . 
thou wast wearied with the length of thy way, etc. Three things 
are denounced : open sin — then (in this passage) the seeking 
other refuge than Jehovah, in pursuit of which the people 
maintained hope amid weariness, whereas of Jehovah they 
despaired without a struggle* — thirdly (page 1S5) formalism. 

ii. At last an effect is produced : and the appeal is answered 
by Repentant Israel (a common speaker in the dialogues of 
Jeremiah and Hosea). 

iii. Following upon this repentance we have the interposi- 
tion of Jehovah as a turning point to the Vision : the redemp- 
tion is begun, and a Redeemer shall come to Zion. — For the 
direct announcement of the movement here, compare above, 
page 247 : there is a similar case at the centre of the Rhapsody 
of Joel (chapter ii. 18). 

iv. An elaborate lyric Song, celebrating Zion in its complete 
redemption. — The successive stages of the song commence with 
couplets introducing a thought expanded in quatrains (or sex- 
tetts occasionally). (1) Dawn out of darkness. (2) Nations 
flocking to the light, bringing the exiles to their Zion. (3) Ships 
like doves flocking to their windows bring the wealth of the 
nations as tribute. (4) The City of the Lord. (5) There is 
a climax in the conception of a light that never sets. 

V. The last section introduces the presence of the Redeemer 
in Zion. Here again there seems insufficient evidence as to 
the personality, whether to be identified with the * Servant of 

* The interpretation of this passage given in my Literary Study of the 
Bible (page 411) I think no longer tenable. 

252 



Notes B^- 



Jehovah' in another stage of idealisation, or some independent 
presence. In the literary interpretation the name must be left 
undefined. — The spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me. Compare 
above, page 248. It is not easy to see why this form of the Divine 
name appears here and again on the following page. It may be 
observed, however, that in both cases the two names Lord and 
God are used in close association : perhaps this is a reflection 
of the spirit of the whole Vision, which includes strangers with 
the original people of God in the redemption worked in Zion. 

Page 198. Prepare ye the way of the people . . . lift up an 
ensign for the peoples. The close of this Vision is the immedi- 
ate expectation of the promised return of exiles and gathering 
in of the Nations. The watchmen are smoothing the road for 
the inhabitants of Zion to go forth and meet their guests, and 
setting up waymarks to guide the newcomers to their destina- 
tion. 

Vision VII 

The main thought of Hebrew wisdom and prophecy is judg- 
ment : the vindication of good and fall of evil. This is here 
presented in two pictures : A Vision of Judgment on the Na- 
tions ; a Dramatic Scene of Judgment in Zion. — It will be 
noticed that this and the preceding Vision are independent 
of one another : the situation at the close of VI is not the situa- 
tion at the beginning of VII : each Vision is complete in itself. 

i. The use made of the ' Chorus of Watchmen ' here is pre- 
cisely that made of the Prophetic Watchman in IV. x. As Seir 
appears there for the border region nigh the prophetic watch- 

253 



-*S Isaiah 



tower, so here Edom and Bozrah are similarly used. — The 
close of this section evidently echoes the language of section iii 
of the previous Vision : this implies that it is Jehovah himself 
who descends in judgment. 

ii. For the pendulum-like alternation between Judgment and 
Salvation, see above, page 218. 

Page 206. What manner of house will ye build unto me ? 
The relevance of this passage is best explained by comparing 
the words of Repentant Israel (page 203) as to the destruction 
of the holy and beautiful house. Jehovah proclaims that his 
dwelling is alike in heaven and in the humble heart. 

Page 207. Confused cries, etc. There is clearly an inter- 
ruption here to the alternating monologue. It seems to consist 
of cries wrung out by the wonders of destruction and salvation; 
the first are merely irregular cries, the others regular stanzas of 
glad surprise that the mighty promises of a restored nation 
should be fulfilled at a stroke. 

254 



Index 

AND 

Reference Table 



REFERENCE TABLE 



To connect the Numbering in the Present Edition with the Chapters and 
Verses of the Bible 



Chap. Verse Page 

Title page I i i 

Book I 

i The Great Arraignment 2 7 

ii Through Judgment to Glory II 2 10 

III 1 12 

IV 1 14 

iii Parable of the Vineyard V 1 15 

iv A Sevenfold Woe 8 16 

v The Call of the Prophet VI 1 20 

Book II 

i To king Ahaz VII 1 25 

ii To the king of Israel 17 27 

VIII 1 28 

iii Judah and her Enemies 9 30 

IX 1 32 

iv Doom of the North 8 33 

X 1 36 

Book III 

Prophecy of Assyrian Invasion 5 39 

XI 1 42 

XII 1 44 



s 



257 



-*8 Reference Table 



Book IV 

Chap. Verse Page 

i Doom of Babylon XIII 2 49 

XIV 1 52 

ii Doom of Assyria 24 55 

iii Doom of Philistia 28 56 

iv Doom of Moab XV 1 57 

XVI 1 58 

v Doom of Syria and Israel XVII 1 61 

vi A Doom Song 12 62 

vii Doom of Ethiopia XVIII 1 63 

viii Doom of Egypt XIX 1 64 

ix A Sign for Ashdod XX 1 68 

x The Watchman of Israel XXI 1 69 

XXII 1 72 

xi Shebna and Eliakim 15 73 

xii Doom of Tyre XXIII 1 75 

xiii A Rhapsody of Judgment XXIV 1 79 

XXV 1 83 

XXVI 1 85 

XXVII 1 88 

Book V 

i The Covenant with Death XXVIII 1 93 

ii The Nightmare of Judgment upon Ariel. . XXIX 1 96 

iii The Boaster that Sitteth Still XXX 1 99 

iv The Horses of Egypt and the Holy One of 

Israel XXXI 1 103 

XXXII 1 104 

v The Women that are at ease 9 105 

vi A Rhapsody of Salvation XXXIII 1 106 

258 



Reference Table S*- 



Chap. Verse Page 

The Utter Destruction and the Great Res- 
toration XXXIV i 109 

XXXV 1 in 

Book VI 

The Invasion of Sennacherib XXXVI 1 115 

XXXVII 1 117 

The Sickness of Hezekiah XXXVIII 1 122 

Hezekiah's Folly XXXIX 1 125 



Book VII 
or 

The Rhapsody of Zion Redeemed 



Prelude . 
Vision I 



The Servant of Jehovah Delivered 



Vision II The Servant of Jehovah Awakened 



Vision III Zion Awakened. 



Vision IV The Servant of Jehovah Exalted 

Vision V Songs of Zion Exalted 

259 



XL 


1 


131 




12 


134 


XLI 




136 


XLII 




139 


XLI 1 1 




142 


XLIV 




145 


XLV 




149 


XLVI 




152 


XLVII 




153 


XLVI 1 1 




156 


XLIX 




159 


L 




163 


LI 




165 


LII 




169 




13 


172 


LIII 




172 


LIV 




175 


LV 




178 



Vision VI Redemption at work in Zion 



Vision VII The Day of Judgment 



-*S Reference Table 



Chap. 


Verse 


Page 


. LVI 


I 


181 


LVI I 


I 


182 


LVI 1 1 


I 


185 


LIX 


I 


187 


LX 


I 


190 


LXI 


I 


195 


LXII 


I 


196 


.LXI II 


I 


199 


LXIV 


I 


202 


LXV 


I 


203 


LXVI 


I 


206 



260 



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Esther, and Tobit. 

THE PSALMS (Two Volumes) 

Containing the whole of The Psalms and also the Book of 
Lamentations. 

SELECT MASTERPIECES of biblical literature 

2 



HISTORY SERIES 

IN FIVE VOLUMES 

GENESIS 

Bible History, Part I : Formation of the Chosen Nation. 
THE EXODUS 

Bible History, Part II : Migration of the Chosen Nation to ths 
Land of Promise. — Book of Exodus, with Leviticus and Num< 
bers. 

THE JUDGES 

Bible History, Part III : The Chosen Nation in its Efforts 
towards Secular Government. — Books of Joshua, Judges, 
I Samuel. 

THE KINGS 

Bible History, Part IV : The Chosen Nation under a Secular 
Government side by side with a Theocracy. — Books of II 
Samuel, I and II Kings. 

THE CHRONICLES 

Ecclesiastical History of the Chosen Nation. — Books of Chron« 
icles, Ezra, Nehemiah. 



PROPHECY SERIES 

IN FOUR VOLUMES 

ISAIAH 

The vision of Isaiah, the Son of Amoz, which he saw concern- 
ing Judah and Jerusalem in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, 
and Hezekiah, Kings of Judah. 

EZEKIEL 

The prophetic works of Ezekiel. 
JEREMIAH 

The words of Jeremiah, the Son of Hilkiah, to whom the Word 
of the Lord came in the days of Joslah, Jehoiakim, and Zede« 
kiah, Kings of Judah. 



3 



DANIEL AND THE MINOR PROPHETS 

Containing The Book of Daniel, The Prophecy of Hosea, The 
Prophecy of Joel, The Book of Amos, The Vision of Obadiah, 
The Book of Jonah, The Prophecy of Micah, The Oracle Con- 
cerning Nineveh and the Book of Nahum, The Oracle which 
Habakkuk did see, The Prophecy of Zephaniah, The Book of 
Haggai, The Book of Zechariah, and other anonymous prophe- 
cies. 



NEW TESTAMENT SERIES 

IN FOUR VOLUMES 

ST. MATTHEW, ST. MARK, and the GENERAL 
EPISTLES 

Containing The Gospel according to St. Matthew, The Gospel 
according to St. Mark, an Epistle to the Hebrews, The Epistle 
of St. James, The Epistles of St. Peter, and The Epistle of St. 
Jude. 

ST. LUKE and ST. PAUL (Two Volumes) 

Containing The Gospel of St. Luke, The Acts of the Apostles, 
with the Pauline Epistles introduced at the several points of the 
history to which they are usually referred. An opportunity will 
thus be afforded of studying, without the interruption of com- 
ment or discussion, the continuous History of the New Testa- 
ment Church as presented by itself. 

ST. JOHN 

Containing the Gospel, Epistles, and Revelation of St. John, 



THE MACMILLAN COMPANY 

66 FIFTH AVENUE, NEW YORK 
4 



MAY 23 1904 



BRENTANO'S 
'AkHellern & Stationers, 
VaMhington, D. C 




0,020 517 377 e 



